Cricket commentator and former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has been involved in a lot of controversies lately. A few weeks back, he conveyed his lack of trust on Hardik Pandya as a batman through a tweet. In the same tweet, he also criticized Ravindra Jadeja and mentioned that Jaduu should be only brought in as a substitute fielder. However, both of these cricketers silenced Manjrekar through their amazing performance in the ODI and T20 series against Australia.
The commentator also apologized to the fans through another tweet after those performances. Today, Manjrekar has done it again though. This time he criticized Ravichandran Ashwin for his poor batting performance in the first test match.
What Sanjay Manjrekar Said About R. Ashwin And His Batting?
In ESPN’s broadcasting panel, Commentator Manjrekar opined, “Batsmen (should) have an average of 35, and that is what Ashwin averaged till 2016. So, he was almost playing the role of an all-rounder. He had four centuries, all against West Indies, and 10 fifties for a match-winning bowler”
The former cricketer strongly believes that this drop in batting performance is caused by the preference that Ravindra Jadeja got over Ashwin for a long time. Jadeja was sent to bat before Ashwin for most of the matches because of the finishing the left-handed batsman provided. That gradually started shifting Ashwin’s role towards the tailenders.
“Nowadays, he is also thinking that he should focus more on his bowling. There is more pressure on his bowling now. Earlier, if the team had to pick one spinner, Ashwin got the nod-ahead. Now Jadeja is also competing with him in Tests.”
What The Former Indian Cricket Went On To Add?
“I have a theory that after 2017, Jadeja as a batsman has started to come ahead of him. He (Jadeja) has developed better as a batsman. That means Ashwin’s number went a little lower. I think that’s a direct reason for his batting motivation to come down.”
Team India’s Batsmen gave a horrible performance today in their second innings of the first Test against Australia. The men in blue were in a very suitable position to seal the victory. Shockingly, Team India was all out for just 36 runs! This is India’s lowest ever test score. The Indian batsmen just couldn’t face the deadly pacers of Australia – Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Both of them took four and five wickets respectively.
The Story Of The Game And How It Ended
Mohammed Shami was retired hurt. Having bottled the match so badly, it would be difficult for the team to make a come back as their captain Virat Kohli will not be available for the next matches. However, Rohit Sharma’s arrival will serve to be a ray of hope for Indian fans.
Many cricket legends had already speculated that Australia will have an upper hand over India in the test series. Such a shameful loss is unfathomable by many Indian fans. They took to social media to troll the players.
Changes in India’s squad seems inevitable. The likes of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Aggarwal will probably be excluded from the team. Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are most likely to replace them.
