She said this on air while commentating for the Hindi broadcast team in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
A former Indian cricketer has found himself in a difficult situation after making a controversial comment about North Indian players. She said this while commentating on-air during India’s 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup opener against New Zealand last night (October 4).
Former cricketer turned pundit Sanjay Manjrekar has now sparked fury and come under severe criticism for his opinion.
Manjrekar was commentating for the Hindi broadcast team when the commentary panel started talking about Munish Bali, who is the fielding coach of the current Indian women’s team after having made the step up from the men’s Under-19 unit.
During the conversation, Manjrekar’s co-commentator mentioned that Bali had previously played cricket for Punjab before taking up coaching duties.
To that, Manjrekar replied, “Sorry, I don’t know you. I didn’t care much about the Northern players. (Sorry, I didn’t recognize it. I don’t know the Northern players very well).”
Sanjay Manjrekar faces heavy criticism for his comment
Fans expected someone like Manjrekar, who was selected for the World Cup commentary team, to meet a key and experienced figure within the Indian team.
Bali brings significant international experience, having served as assistant coach of the Under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2008, featuring notable players such as Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Manish Pandey. He also worked alongside VVS Laxman when the former India batsman temporarily replaced Rahul Dravid, joining the senior men’s team as fielding coach during the tours of Ireland and New Zealand.
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On the other hand, India suffered a major 58-run loss to New Zealand in Dubai in their first match of the tournament, with their batting line-up struggling during the chase as no player managed to score more than 15 runs. With qualification for the group stage crucial, the team will look for a strong comeback in their next match against arch-rival Pakistan.
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