Sanjay Manjrekar knew he would lose India spot after the advent of Ganguly, Dravid

Sanjay Manjrekar, one of the most technically sound batsmen in world cricket only recently released his autobiography titled Imperfect. It reveals a lot of inside stories about cricket in Mumbai, international cricket, and his time in the commentary box. Over 21 years after he last played for India, Manjrekar has established himself as a cricket expert and TV commentator. Speaking to The Quint in an exclusive interview ahead of his book release, the 52-year-old revealed certain interesting insights regarding his career.

Manjrekar who played well on pitches that aided pace and bounce was given the title ‘Mr.Perfect’ and ‘Mr. Different’ by Sachin Tendulkar because he always aimed at perfection and worked on tiny technical flaws. He donned the national outfit in 111 matches had a dream start to his Test career, scoring a stunning 108 against a West Indies side that fielded Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh, in just his third Test.

Dravid was destined to play for India

Despite being a linchpin in India’s batting lineup, Manjrekar conceded that he was aware that his time was up when he saw the advent of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Going into retrospection, the veteran right-hander recollects how the duo starred during India’s 1996 England tour.

It was a tour that established the foothold of the two most successful batsman in Indian history. Manjrekar revealed, while Dravid’s success was expected, Ganguly’s form took everyone by surprise. Ganguly, who later went on to become India skipper was incorporated into the squad not on the back of statistics but on the basis of his sheer talent.

Speaking on the same lines, Manjrekar said, “He (Sourav) was not in the team on the back of big scores but was picked because he had talent. Just the way he batted in those conditions, we all thought he will have a good series and his success eventually in the Test series didn’t take us by surprise.” He added, “Dravid looked like he was destined to play for India, but the way they batted in the series, I knew my time was up.”