Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar is well-known for his controversial statements, and he’s back in the spotlight after India’s second Test defeat to New Zealand in Pune, as he attempted to defend the Indian team and captain Rohit Sharma.
India suffered a shocking home series defeat to New Zealand after losing the second Test at Pune, marking India’s first home Test series loss in 12 years. During this stretch India had a stellar run, winning 18 consecutive home Test series.
Sanjay Manjrekar Defends Team India
Following the series loss, fans and cricket experts were quick to criticize the Men in Blue. However, Sanjay Manjrekar had a different take. The former India batsman argued that a single series defeat doesn’t reflect the team’s overall quality.
“Also, a team that won 18 consecutive home series losing one should not make India a poor team. Score is 18-1. And that’s pretty awesome!” Manjrekar posted on X.
Social media was flooded with criticism of Manjrekar’s post, with fans accusing him of defending Rohit Sharma because both of them are from Mumbai.
Users pointed out that Manjrekar’s remarks seemed biased and questioned his objectivity in defending the Indian captain. Manjrekar has been in the news recently for other controversial remarks as well.
During the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 he made a stir with inappropriate comments about North Indian cricketers admitting that he does not give much attention to them. These comments drew heavy backlash and added to his reputation for contentious statements.
In the second Test match held in Pune on Saturday, India had a bitter loss of 113 runs and was defeated by New Zealand in just three days. This loss also signaled the first time in 13 years that a visiting team had triumphed in a Test series against India.
This victory was also New Zealand’s first series win against India and came after they had waited 38 years for a Test win in India in the first match of this series.
India had lost the series in Pune after another failure in first Test at Bengaluru. Now New Zealand head 2-0 in the series. Last Test will be played at Mumbai where India will try level score line in oder to avoid a clean sweep.
