Commentator and former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has been removed from the commentary panel by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror on Saturday.
In the report it has been stated that Manjrekar was not present in Dharamsala for the first ODI between India and South Africa on Thursday. The match was called off without a ball being bowled due to incessant rains.
“Maybe he will be left out from the IPL panel too. At this stage, it is not on top of our mind. But the fact is they are not happy with his work,” said a BCCI source to Mumbai Mirror.
The report also mentioned that Sanjay Manjrekar was not available for a response.
The Indian Premier League, which was supposed to start on 29 March, has also been suspended till 15 April and even India’s three-match ODI series against South Africa was called off on Friday. The second and third matches in the series, which were to be held in Lucknow and Kolkata, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
With no cricket for the next few weeks, it is unclear how long Manjrekar will be absent from his commentary duties.
It was controversy-filled 2019 for Sanjay Manjrekar in the commentary box.
After he verbal feud with Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja during last year’s World Cup, where Manjrekar called Jadeja ‘bits-and-pieces cricketer’. This was followed by an an on-air argument with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle during the pink-ball Test in Kolkata.
Manjrekar later apologised for it, adding it was his worst year as a commentator.
The Indian cricket community is currently dealing with the outbreak of coronavirus, as the pandemic has resulted in the cancellation second and third matches in the series, which were to be held in Lucknow and Kolkata.
Meanwhile, for the first ODI between India and South Africa, Manjrekar was part of the team experts for cricket website ESPNCricinfo. The former Indian cricketer was also part of the Road Safety World Series broadcast team, which also got cancelled amidst coronavirus pandemic.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)