The former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar who is known for his commentary feels it was the worst year for him as an analyst and a commentator. Remembering his spat with Ravindra Jadeja during the World Cup and the recent rift between the all-time commentator Harsha Bhogle, the 54-year-old believes it was one hell of a year that he cannot forget.
2019 to be the worst year
“I started this profession in 1997-1998, so it’s been about 20-21 years. It’s been the worst year for me as an analyst and a commentator,” Manjrekar told.
The semi-final clash against New Zealand, Manjrekar had described Jadeja as a “bits and pieces player” and had rejected him from his playing XI against the Kiwis for which he was criticized heavily on the social media.
Spat with Jadeja and Bhogle
The former cricketer also admitted he never met Jadeja after that event because there was no dispute. “There was no misunderstanding here, I said exactly what Jadeja heard.” He further stated that he doesn’t disapprove of the words he used for Jadeja as according to him ‘bits and pieces player’ is a “commonly used cricketing term”.
'I was unprofessional. I was wrong'@sanjaymanjrekar regrets the on-air comments he made to @bhogleharsha during the pink-ball Test in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/RocUbJumuV
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 30, 2019
After months the demented personality was in news again and this time he was in a rift with his fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle. It was an ongoing Test match between India and Bangladesh. They both got involved in a heated up on-air debate during day three of the Pink-ball Test. The topic was about the visibility of the pink ball where Bhogle asked meditation by taking players’ views into account.
Being unprofessional was my mistake
Staring at the flashbacks, Manjrekar stated he regretted the incident. “I want to get very serious about this. I respect myself for being a professional and with that particular comment it was me losing control and I was unprofessional, I was wrong and something that I regret… it was wrong of me. That is what bothers me that I let my emotions get the better of me. Mostly being unprofessional and to an extent indecent as well.”
However, the 54-year-old explained that he had already issued an apology to the producer of broadcaster Star Sports for his misconduct. ‘’Of course. It was wrong and I say that because it was unprofessional and the first thing that I did was I had apologized to the producer that I was working for that it was wrong’’, he added.
