Former India batsman-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has hit out at trolls for criticizing him over his comment about the locust threat in the country.

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On Thursday (May 28), Manjrekar took to Twitter and wrote: “Ok guys, no need to panic with the locusts. We are not crop.”

However, his post didn’t go down well with the netizens as many called him insensitive.

Baffled by the over-reaction, Manjrekar posted a strong statement in his defence some hours later. The Mumbaikar said people who were slamming him for being insensitive towards farmers should know that he had reached out to farmers in distress and had also paid off loans of a few families.

"Get a life guys! Last tweet was meant lightly for Mumbai folks living in flats & panicking because of locusts." Sanjay tweeted.

"Me, insensitive to farmers?? This is a person who travelled to Marathwada & visited houses of farmers who had committed suicide & yes, paid off loans of a few farmer families and want to do so much more. Had never shared this with the public, but had to today, to shut certain toxic people up," he added.

It is worth mentioning here that locust has affected around 100 districts in five states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) has also issued high alerts for Punjab and Haryana where a swarm that is on the move is expected to enter.

(Inputs from India Today)