After Sanjay Manjrekar and Ravi Shastri, I am backing Ravichandran Ashwin as a future commentator: Harsha Bhogle

As the entire world is going through a lockdown, there are no sporting events to enjoy. During these times, players have started using social media more than ever. Along with this, players are seen doing Instagram live sessions. At this time, Ravichandran Ashwin has started hosting special guests on his official Instagram profile.

On Saturday, the Indian spinner decided to have Sanjay Manjrekar as a guest on the show. During this interaction, the World Cup-winner was asking the cricketer turned commentator about the 1996 World Cup semi-final match at Kolkata.

The match was quite disappointing for any Indian fan. Manjrekar was the part of the side in that match. During the interaction, the two players talked about their memories of the match. The former batsman talked about the match which India had lost and failed to qualify for the final.

Harsha Bhogle enjoyed the interaction between Ashwin and Manjrekar

Having set a total of 252 to chase, India were cruising along with Sachin Tendulkar batting quite well. However, after his wicket, India slipped from 98 for 1 to 120 for 8. After this, the fans started rioting in the stadium because of which the match had to be called off. Sri Lanka went on to win the final match.

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1996 word cup semi finals heartbreak and beyond.

A post shared by Stay Indoors India 🇮🇳 (@rashwin99) on May 16, 2020 at 6:47am PDT

After watching the live session, commentator Harsha Bhogle voiced his opinion about the session on Twitter. He wrote that he enjoyed the interaction between the two cricketers. He pointed out that the spinner is curious and also credited Manjrekar for his honesty.

Through the tweet, Harsha also revealed that back in 1991, he predicted that Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar would be good commentators. The cricket expert said that he feels Ashwin can too become one someday.

“Really enjoyed this interaction between @ashwinravi99 and @sanjaymanjrekar. Ashwin is curious and Sanjay approaches such issues with honesty and candour. In 1991, I had predicted that Sanjay and Ravi would make very good commentators. I am now saying that about Ashwin” the tweet read. 

Really enjoyed this interaction between @ashwinravi99 and @sanjaymanjrekar. Ashwin is curious and Sanjay approaches such issues with honesty and candour. In 1991, I had predicted that Sanjay and Ravi would make very good commentators. I am now saying that about Ashwin

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 18, 2020

Manjrekar and Bhogle have a little history. The two have been in commentatory panels for years together. However, during India’s first pink-ball Test match in Kolkata, the pair had a fallout. While being on-air, the two were discussing the visibility on the new pink ball.

While Harsha said it should be discussed with the players after the match, Manjrekar felt it was not required. The former Mumbai batsman went on to make a harsh comment saying that Harsha hasn’t played professional cricket and hence, he doesn’t need to discuss about the visibility of the ball.