Sanjay Manjrekar revealed why he did not ask Rohit Sharma about Arshdeep Singh's dropped catch during the post-match presentation ceremony after India’s five-wicket loss to Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four match on Sunday (September 4) in Dubai.
Arshdeep was severally criticized on social media for dropping Asif Ali’s catch in the 18th over, as he went on to hit two fours and one six to seal a historic win for Pakistan against Team India on Sunday.
However, Manjrekar said that it's unfair to say that Arshdeep’s dropped catch was a decisive moment in the thrilling match as one moment does not influence a game of cricket, and that’s why he did not ask the India captain about the same after the match in Dubai.
Manjrekar told Sports18: “I'm going to become like a psychologist. I'll go very deep into the psyche of people. What is pressure? Pressure is when you have to perform an act and when performing the act, a thought comes into your head that this is a very important act. That's when the pressure gets to you.”
The former Indian batter further explained, “Anybody would have taken that catch who's played a bit of cricket. Arshdeep would have taken that catch normally, almost with one eye closed, 99 times out of 100. Maybe a thought that this is India vs Pakistan.
This is a crucial catch and Asif Ali got him to drop that. It's one of those things that happens. And that's why I didn't ask Rohit Sharma whether that catch was the turning point. Because it shouldn't be just one drop catch at a certain stage of the game.”
Manjrekar signed off by saying, “Pinning the blame on Arshdeep Singh, a young cricketer would not have been fair. You don't lose cricket matches because of one moment. There are many contributing factors with which you lose a game, because all of those factors come by.”
