Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has been subjected to criticism for his ‘bits and pieces’ comment on India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. But on Wednesday, Manjrekar apologised to the cricketer and said his performance against New Zealand was sheer brilliance.
India crashed out of the World Cup 2019 after suffering an 18-run loss to New Zealand in the semi-final but Jadeja, alongwith MS Dhoni, was responsible to bring the team so close to the target after they were 3/3.
In a video posted by International Cricket Council, Manjrekar can be seen having a conversational With Niall O’Brien and Ian Smith. ICC captioned the video with: ‘By bits ‘n’ pieces of sheer brilliance, he’s ripped me apart on all fronts. @sanjaymanjrekar has something to say to @imjadeja after the all-rounder’s fantastic performance against New Zealand.’
“This is the Jadeja we haven’t seen before. He was brilliant today,” Manjrekar said in the video. “I have to apologise to him, he was looking for me but I wasn’t there. I was in the lounge taking my lunch, I’m sorry,” Manjrekar said.
Jadeja, after taking a wicket, went on to score 77 runs in difficult chase. After scoring his fifty, Jadeja celebrated in his trademark style, directing them towards the commentary box.
Earlier, Manjrekar had called Jadeja a ‘bits and pieces’ cricketer on air which did not go down well with the India player.
The remark did not go down well with Jadeja and he tweeted a reply to Manjrekar.
“Still I have played twice the number of matches you have played and I m still playing. Learn to respect ppl who have achieved.i have heard enough of your verbal diarrhoea. @sanjaymanjrekar,” the tweet read.
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