'I will be happy to work as per guidelines laid by you' - Sanjay Manjrekar asks BCCI to reinstate him as commentator ahead of IPL 2020

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has requested the BCCI to reinstate him as a commentator for the upcoming IPL season. He was removed from the panel ahead of ODIs series between India and South Africa in March this year. But the series was cancelled (postponed) due to COVID-19 pandemic. Manjrekar has also assured the board that he will work as per the guidelines laid out by them.

Manjrekar was in the headlines for his ‘bits and pieces’ comment on Ravindra Jadeja during the World Cup last year. He was also criticised a lot for taking a dig at Harsha Bhogle on air while commentating during the day-night Test between India and Bangladesh. 

The 55-year-old wrote an email to the BCCI requesting the apex council to consider him as a commentator for the IPL slated to be played from September 19 to November 8 as of now. “Respected members of the Apex Council, hope you all keeping well. You are already in receipt of the email I sent to explain my position as commentator. With the IPL dates announced, bcci.tv will pick its commentary panel soon.

“I will be happy to work as per the guidelines laid by you. After all, we are working on what is essentially your production. Last time maybe there was not enough clarity on this issue. Thanks very much,” the email read according to the Times of India. Interestingly, this is the second email from the former India cricketer to the BCCI in the matter.

Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah to take a final call

A board official too believed that the matter should be closed now with Sanjay Manjrekar already sorting out his issues with the concerned player. Moreover, he had also apologised to Harsha in a tweet soon after the Pink Ball Test last year. “We should close this chapter now and forgive Manjrekar. He has already apologised for his comments on Jadeja and sorted it out with the player concerned.

“He has promised us that he’ll stick to the ‘code of conduct’ for TV commentators. After all, he’s a fine commentator with massive cricketing knowledge,” the official said. Meanwhile, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah will take a final call in this matter. It will be interesting to see now if Sanjay Manjrekar will be included in the panel for the IPL.