The untold story of Sanjay Manjrekar - 'The Unfinished Wall'

Sanjay Manjrekar was tipped to be Sunil Gavaskar’s successor

The Wall has long been the nickname for one of India’s premier batsmen of all time, Rahul Dravid. The main reason for this has been his prowess in terms of batting technique. A few years before Dravid burst onto the scene as the most technically correct Indian batsman post the great Sunil Gavaskar; there was another man who, albeit for a short period, had staked a claim for this honour. We know him today as a popular cricket commentator; it is none other than Sanjay Manjrekar.

Manjrekar’s international career

After a forgetful debut against West Indies at home in the year 1987 where he was hit in the eye by a Winston Benjamin bouncer, Manjrekar made his way back into the Indian Test team for an away tour against the same team in 1989.

He responded well to the faith shown in him by the national selectors by cracking his maiden century against the likes of Marshall, Walsh, Ambrose and Bishop on a lively Barbados pitch. India may have lost the match and eventually the series as well, but Manjrekar won many accolades from all corners for his gutsy performances. Comparisons with Gavaskar started doing the rounds and many felt that India’s new batting hero had arrived.

The Pakistan tour that followed ushered in unprecedented success for the young Mumbai batsman as he amassed a phenomenal 569 runs at an average of just under 95 with a top score of 218. However, in the present day, this series is only remembered for the fact that it marked the beginning of one of cricket’s most celebrated careers, that of Sachin Tendulkar.

Nevertheless, it was a remarkable performance by Manjrekar as the bowling attack comprised of then Pakistani greats in Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir and younger versions of the two Ws, Wasim and Waqar. He was a major factor in ensuring that India came back unscathed with the 4-match series level at 0-0.

Just when all pieces of the jigsaw puzzle seemed to be falling into place for this promising young batsman, he suffered a sudden slump in form during India’s tour of New Zealand in 1990. He managed to pull things back a bit in the subsequent series in England where he got 2 half centuries including a 93. Manjrekar finally got a century in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in 1992, but it came at the back of a dismal tour Down Under where he averaged a mere 21.88.

What followed was perhaps the defining moment for a career that had promised so much; India’s inaugural tour to South Africa. Manjrekar failed to find any form throughout the series and was found wanting against the pace of Donald and McMillan. As a result of this, he was eventually dropped from the Indian team.

From an average of over 52 after 10 Test matches to that of just below 40 after 25, Manjrekar’s career had definitely suffered a major dip in form. He made a few attempts towards making a comeback but never really managed to explore the man within himself who was tipped to become the next Little Master.

After playing his final Test against South Africa at home in November 1996, he decided to call time on his international career in the following year.

What went wrong?

The obvious question that comes to mind after looking back at what transpired in Manjrekar’s career is ‘What went wrong?’ Did he get too obsessed with the technical aspects of his batting? Or is it that he was unable to cope up with the pressure of becoming India’s batting mainstay? Or maybe it was the presence of other talented players that did him in?

When asked about this during some of his interviews, the man himself has admitted that he was guilty of being over critical about himself during his playing days. He also feels that it may have been his inability to pull himself out of the dumps that cost him dearly.

There can be a number of possible explanations for Manjrekar’s career declining in the way that it did. First of all, too much indulgence into getting the perfect technique perhaps came in the way of getting runs on the board. Secondly, the pressure of being compared to a legendary cricketer may have got the better of him.

Another very likely reason could have been the presence of other talented youngsters in the team who were quickly rising up the ranks. To add to it, lack of guidance or support from other senior cricketers when required may have led to his downfall.

Manjrekar’s career is a true reflection of how oodles of talent can get wasted if not handled in the right manner. He could have easily become what someone like Rahul Dravid eventually became; however, sadly that was not to be. He has eventually found a place to belong in the cricketing world as a popular TV commentator, but somewhere in mind there might surely be some regret on not being able to realise his true potential as a cricketer.