IND vs AUS | Donât like Jadeja-Pandya like cricketers in white-ball cricket, opines Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar has revealed that he doesn't like Jadeja-Pandya like cricketers
|Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that he doesnât like Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya-like cricketers in white-ball cricket as they only add illusory value to the team. Instead, the Mumbaikar insisted that several players could walk into the team just based on their one discipline nature.
While India exited the 2019 World Cup in the semi-final against New Zealand, the talk of the town was the verbal-battle between Ravindra Jadeja and Sanjay Manjrekar, who was on-air during the tournament. Manjrekar went on to call Jadeja a âbits and piecesâ cricketer, which in turn irked the all-rounder to openly criticise the former cricketer-turned-commentator.Â
After a year of the incident, Manjrekar has further opined that he doesnât like a Jadeja or Hardik Pandya like cricketers in white-ball cricket. The Mumbaikar also pointed out how people with one discipline could walk into the team instead of the two cricketers, who offer three-dimensional cricket for the team. He also insisted that he has a problem with this kind of cricketers.Â
âMy selection and thoughts are based on a principle that I have learned over the years: if you have specialists who can walk-in based on one discipline, you fill your team with those players. I do not have a problem with Jadeja; I have a problem with his kind of cricketers in white-ball cricket,â Manjrekar told The Hindu.
Manjrekar also reckoned that Pandya wonât be in his team, because he only adds illusory value to the team but also straight away cleared the air that he rates Jadeja highly in the longest format of the game.Â
âEven Hardik Pandya will not be in my team. They add illusory value to the team. Of course, I have always rated Jadeja highly in the Test format,â he added.Â
From a personal note, Manjrekar opened up about the frailties of a commentatorâs job, revealing that he was removed earlier from the job but insisted that he has become thick-skinned about those things.Â
âNot many people know that I have been removed earlier as well. It was something I tweeted. Itâs not easy, of course, but in many, I have become thick-skinned about such things,â Manjrekar concluded.