The BCCI has barred Sanjay Manjrekar from the list of commentators finalised for the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), starting September 19.
See Also: MCA group requests BCCI to reinstate Sanjay Manjrekar in the commentary team
Manjrekar’s name was missing from both the English and the Hindi commentators' roster despite him writing to the BCCI, urging the board to reinstate him in the commentary panel and assuring it that he would play by the rules.
On the eve of the IPL 2020, Manjrekar’s opened up on his sacking, saying he wouldn’t like to comment on that.
"It is better I don't comment on that. I will be working full-time with ESPNCricinfo for their pre-match and post-match shows. I am also in the final stages of discussions with a news channel and will be an in-house expert for a fantasy league platform. I will also be writing columns plus doing updates for an FM radio station," Manjrekar was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.
BCCI had sacked Sanjay Manjrekar from the commentary team before the India-South Africa series in March this year, but the three ODIs couldn’t be held due to COVID-19 pandemic.
As per reports, Manjrekar's comments on India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja went against him. During the 2019 World Cup in England, he had grabbed the headlines by calling Jadeja a “bits and pieces” cricketer.
Manjrekar further said Indians are fairly sensitive and explained how his words are often misunderstood by the masses and fellow cricketers.
"We, Indians, are very sensitive to criticism. The other problem is that English as a language is often misunderstood. For most people, it is not even a second language.
"A lot of the terms I tend to use are misunderstood. For example, when I had said that 'Tendulkar-related' issues are like the elephant in the room. So, that was a term that was misunderstood.
"People thought I was calling him a 'white elephant'. In the case of 'bits and pieces', people thought it was the degradation of a player. So, if I would have said 'non-specialist', then I don't think there would have had been a furore," he remarked.
