IPL 2020: MCA official requests BCCI to make Sanjay Manjrekar a part of commentary panel

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is not happy with cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar’s omission from the IPL 2020 commentary panel. An MCA official has subsequently asked the BCCI to reconsider its stand, adding that some of Mumbai cricket’s legends are also not okay with the decision.

MCA Apex Council member Nadeem Memon has penned a letter to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, requesting them to reinstate Sanjay Manjrekar as a commentator.

Heaping praise on the former India cricketer, Memon wrote that fans love listening to the duo of Sanjay Manjrekar and Sunil Gavaskar. He was quoted as saying:

“I have written to Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah. I will bring up this issue at the MCA Apex Council meeting and tell them to take up this matter with the BCCI. Manjrekar is such a genuine person, he is one of the best commentators...they (Manjrekar and Gavaskar) have so much in-depth knowledge of the game. They make watching cricket so interesting with their lively comments.”

This comes after the BCCI came out with seven Indian names last week, assigning them commentary duties for IPL 2020. Manjrekar’s name was missing from the list.

Sanjay Manjrekar’s sacking has left Mumbai cricket ‘surprised’: Nadeem Memon

Sanjay Manjrekar has played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs for India

Memon added that some of the greats of the Mumbai cricketing fraternity are silently protesting the sacking of Sanjay Manjrekar from BCCI’s commentary panel. He said:

“All the clubs from Mumbai are firmly behind Manjrekar, even some of the great Mumbai players of the past are supporting him, even though they might have not spoken publicly on this. They are all surprised as to how Manjrekar has been sacked.”

Sanjay Manjrekar has been in the eye of the public storm ever since he called Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a “bits and pieces” player and was engaged in a verbal battle on air with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle during the pink ball Test in Kolkata last November.

He even wrote an apology letter to the BCCI last month, requesting the governing body to make him a part of the IPL 2020 commentary panel. However, that letter was leaked, and Memon said the act was humiliating for someone of the stature of Sanjay Manjrekar.