No return from Sanjay Manjrekar on the commentary team. Photo: BCCI
Key points
- The BCCI has reportedly chosen seven Indians on the commentary team for IPL 2020
- There was no place for prominent commentator Sanjay Manjrekar on the list.
- The BCCI had expelled Manjrekar from the panel in March 2020
The Cricket Control Board in India (BCCI) has reportedly finalized the comment panel for IPL 2020 and the list does not include the name of the featured commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar. According Mumbai mirror, the roster includes former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Anjum Chopra, Harsha Bhogle, Deep Dasgupta, Rohan Gavaskar, Murali Kartik and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. All the commentators, including Gavaskar, 71, will travel to the United Arab Emirates and comment from the ground.
Manjrekar’s absence is a surprise, as he wrote twice to BCCI to reinstate him on the T20 league comment panel. Given his experience, he was expected to return, but the board has decided not to include him on the panel.
Manjrekar was fired by BCCI ahead of the final series of the 2019/20 season. He had first been under the scanner after calling Ravindra Jadeja a ‘bits and pieces’ player during the World Cup. He defended himself by mentioning that he used the term in an interview with an agency and not on air.
During the historic pink ball test against Bangladesh, Manjrekar was heavily criticized after he questioned Bhogle’s credentials on the air. The latter did not play first-class cricket.
Just four months later, Manjrekar was fired from the BCCI comment panel. The news was confirmed after he failed to travel to Dharamsala for the opening ODI against South Africa.
Confirming his dismissal at the time, Manjrekar had written: “I have always considered comments as a great privilege, but never as a right. It is up to my employers whether they choose to have me or not and I will always respect it. Perhaps BCCI has not been happy with my performance lately. I accept it as a professional. “
Manjrekar may not be on the BCCI panel, but he will likely share his experience on some platform during the IPL season. The board has yet to release the props, but it is confirmed that IPL 2020 will take place from September 19 to November 10.
