Sanjay Manjrekar recently grabbed the limelight after making a statement about including Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja in his Indian ODI squad and was in the midst of a heated controversy considering the previous heroics which was shown by Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
In the final game against Australia, India was left contorting at 152 for 5 when Kohli was pouched behind the stumps by Alex Carey, India was staring at another dead defeat as they were lingering along the fringes of another batting collapse.
However, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja turned the tables around as they hammered the Australian bowlers into all corners of the park. The duo stitched together a stand of 150 from 114 deliveries that saw Pandya blasting a phenomenal 92 from 76 deliveries while Jadeja stayed unbeaten for 66 from 50 balls.
Even in the first game, Pandya smashed a brilliant 90 that brought India closer to the target but the herculean effort wasn’t really enough for India to cross the finishing line. Even at Sydney he managed to score a breezy 28 and also scalped a wicket that saw him emerging as a leading frontman of the Indian slew.
Finally in the game that was supposed to save the blushes for India, Pandya hammered the bowlers into all corners of the park, garnering 7 fours and 1 six en route to his lovely 92. This crucial knock in the final ODI compelled Sanjay Manjrekar to post his latest Twitter status.
He cited, “Was skeptical about Hardik the pure batsman in 50 overs cricket. Not anymore.”
When did Manjrekar vs Hardik Pandya start?
Manjrekar quoted that players like Pandya are not a proper fit to his team as they only add illusory value to the squad. In an interview with the Hindu, he cited, “My selection and thoughts are based on a principle that I have learned over the years: if you have specialists who can walk-in based on one discipline, you fill your team with those players. I do not have a problem with Jadeja; I have a problem with his kind of cricketers in white-ball cricket.”
He also added, “Even Hardik Pandya will not be in my team. They add illusory value to the team. Of course, I have always rated Jadeja highly in the Test format.”
