Manjrekar suggested India U19 players should celebrate aggressively when they beat SENA teams.
Pakistan had posted 337/9 thanks to 107 by Usman Khan, 80 by Abdul Qadir, and 63 by captain Farhan Yousuf. Kavya Patel took four wickets, while C. Venkata took three wickets for India.
India’s chase was anchored by captain Lakshya Raichandani’s 80 and Aaryavir Sehwag’s 58. However, India had slipped to 252/8 in 41.3 overs, when Manal Chauhan and Mohit Ulva got together. The duo counterattacked the Pakistani bowlers, adding a quick fifty-plus run stand, with Chauhan making 47.
Ulva remained unbeaten on 49, while no. 11 Venkata made 11*, as India won the game on the last ball by one wicket. Indian youngsters were over the moon after registering a win out of nowhere, and their celebrations were aggressive, with lots of gestures towards opponents and opponent fans as well.
This celebration didn’t go down well with Sanjay Manjrekar, who further went on to say that if these young Indians want to display aggression as they did after the victory in the U19 Asia Cup final, then they must choose SENA nations.
According to Manjrekar, Pakistan is a soft and easy target, and India needs to direct its aggression against tough nations like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and England.
“Indian cricket should now pick guys of their own size if they want to show ‘aggression’ on the field. Pak is now a soft & easy target. " I suggest Aus, SA, NZ & Eng…" Manjrekar posted on X.
In addition to this, Manjrekar restricted the replies to this post. However, fans were not happy with the former cricketer’s viewpoint about celebrations and slammed him for showing empathy for Pakistan, forgetting how they had celebrated after defeating India in the league stage.
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