Sanjay Manjrekar and Harsha Bhogle indulge in controversial argument on air
Former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar’s Twitter antics have created yet another controversy, this time with renowned cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle.
The pink-ball day-night Test match at the Eden Gardens spurred unending debates over the movement and visibility of the ball under lights. On the third day of the Kolkata Test, Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar were live on air, discussing the variable features of the pink ball when Manjrekar started to interrupt Harsha Bhogle on numerous occasions, insinuating more authority and knowledge on the game due to his on-field experience.
Four Bangladesh players, Nayeem Hasan, Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun, and Ebadot Hossain were on the receiving end of the ruthlessness of Indian pacers as they were hit on the helmet. This soon became the topic of discussion between the two, live on air with Harsha Bhogle suggesting that the visibility factor could have had a role in batsmen getting hit. He said that both the batsmen as well as slip catchers should be consulted about the visibility of the ball and the effect of the white side-screen to get a clearer view on this issue.
In reply, Manjrekar dismissed the fellow commentator's views openly and in a condescending way, stating that only people without any cricketing experience needed to discuss visibility as a factor. Bhogle took to Twitter to respond to this, writing that he had a 'patience pill' to get over the confrontation, but soon deleted the tweet.
However, another previous tweet of Bhogle went viral, showcasing his apt answer to a question asked in his alma mater, IIM Ahmedabad, over his on-field cricket inexperience.
Manjrekar received a lot of slack when he had called Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a 'bit and pieces' cricketer during the World Cup last summer in England and Wales. Jadeja had replied in the harshest of ways, comparing his record with that of Manjrekar's.