Sanjay Manjrekar's Opens Up On 2019 "Bits And Pieces" Controversy With Ravindra Jadeja
Former India batter and renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar recently opened up about his controversies with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Mohammed Shami.
- Sanjay Manjrekar called Ravindra Jadeja a bits and pieces player during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England
- Manjrekar now opened up about the controversy, calling it a misunderstanding
- "I think Jadeja was more misunderstanding, bits and pieces he thought was like a cringe cricketer," he said
Former India batter and renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar recently opened up about his controversies with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Mohammed Shami. Manjrekar, who is known for inviting trouble with his unfiltered takes on players, had once called Jadeja "a bits and pieces player" during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. Replying to which, Jadeja had slammed him by asking him to control his "verbal diarrhea." Later in 2024, the commentator had predicted that Shami would be unable to fetch a big amount at the IPL mega auction due to his injuries. However, the pacer was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping price of Rs 10 crore.
Recently, Manjrekar was asked about his thoughts on both the situations, and he called the incident with Jadeja a case of misunderstanding.
"I think Jadeja was more [of a] misunderstanding; bits and pieces, he thought [it] was like a cringe cricketer. I thought he misunderstood that term, and Shami, I have got no idea. Somebody told me that he reacted, but I have no idea what the reaction was, and that is how I keep it simple, as I said," said Manjrekar on Stalin Mathias' YouTube channel.
"Yeah, earlier, let's be honest, I used to get affected by it and try and sort of give my point of view and just try to make things better, but it's like a tsunami that comes in and there's no way you can stop it. The best thing about these tsunamis is that these kinds of controversies or reactions, I mean, 48 hours later, they find something else to get upset about," he added.
For the unversed, Manjrekar had criticised Jadeja during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England by calling him a "bits and pieces player."
"I am not a big fan of bits and pieces players, which Jadeja is at this point in his career in 50-over cricket. In Test matches, he is a pure bowler. But in 50-over cricket, I would rather have a batsman and a spinner," Manjrekar had said to the Times of India.
To which, Jadeja had said, "Still, I have played twice the number of matches you have played and I'm still playing. Learn to respect people who have achieved. I have heard enough of your verbal diarrhea. @sanjaymanjrekar.
India Cricket Team
Ravindra Jadeja
Mohammad Shami