Sanjay Manjrekar Jumps To Gautam Gambhir's Defence With Stunning Claim: 'No Cricket Fan Remembers'
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has urged fans to not read two much into the result of the ODI series defeat against New Zealand.
- Ex-India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar defended India head coach Gautam Gambhir after the ODI series loss to NZ
- Manjrekar urged fans to not read too much into bilateral ODI series, as they don't carry much importance
- "2 weeks later, no cricket fan remembers results of ODI bilaterals. What matters are World Cups": Manjrekar
While India's first-ever ODI series defeat at home to New Zealand has sent another shockwave through the Indian cricket fraternity, former India cricketer and reputed commentator Sanjay Manjrekar urged fans to not read too much into the result of the series. Manjrekar came to the defence of head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill by playing down the importance of the three-match bilateral series, claiming that many fans will not remember the result in a couple of weeks. In fact, Manjrekar went as far as to say that the World Cup is the only ODI tournament that holds value.
"Honestly, in 50-overs cricket today, what really matters are the World Cups and not even the Champions Trophy," Manjrekar said in a video on his official Instagram account.
"If you try and remember the last three Champions Trophy winners, you'll struggle to remember those. But the 50-over World Cup, you'll remember each winner from the time the World Cup started. So, yes, if you want to have your setbacks and poor performances, get it out of the system now, in time for the next World Cup," he added.
"These bilateral series are scheduled, but they're mostly warm up games and one shouldn't read too much into them. In fact, the importance of these bilateral series has become such that, two weeks later, no cricket fan also remembers the result of what happened in that bilateral ODI series," he explained.
"It's all about the World Cups and form coming into the World Cup is really not a big indicator of who's going to win the World Cup," he further stated.
India take on New Zealand in five T20Is, starting Wednesday, January 21. These five matches will be Suryakumar Yadav-led India's final games before they begin the defence of their T20 World Cup title on home soil.
Gautam Gambhir
India Cricket Team