Sanjay Manjrekar labels Indian team selection ‘sensible’

Published - 13 Sept 2016, 12:31 IST | Updated - 13 Sept 2016, 12:31 IST

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Former Indian cricketer and perhaps the mouthpiece of the BCCI, Sanjay Manjrekar, came out in support of the Indian team selection for the upcoming New Zealand Test series yesterday.

Much to the dismay of many fans and the media, several players who were expected to make the cut to the national team, were ignored. The anticipation was huge about the return of Gautam Gambhir to the team. With Shikhar Dhawan struggling to find his feet at the crease and Gambhir’s ominous form in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, it looked like a certain possibility for the veteran to return.

There was another section of fans who keenly awaited the youngsters to make it to the team. Young Saurashtra batsman Sheldon Jackson and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav have been performing heavily in the domestic circuit. While Jackson has hit 2 centuries in the Duleep Trophy this year, Yadav has been the leading wicket taker of the tournament thus far.

Pace bowler Shardul Thakur was dropped from the team as well. He toured West Indies but failed to get a game there. He then played for India A in the quadrangular series down under and bowled some hostile spells – certainly enough for him to retain his place in the squad. However, he was ignored for the home series against the Kiwis.

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The selectors chose to play safe and went forward with pretty much the same side that toured West Indies last month. Despite the likes of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan unable to find any good form, no youngsters were roped into the side. All the speculations made by the media came to a standstill and it was Sanjay Manjrekar who took very little time to take a dig at the media.

The team selection was being heavily criticized on the social media and no wonder that #IndvNz became a top trend on Twitter. Manjrekar took to his Twitter handle to defend the selection of the team and wrote, “You can actually sense the disappointment in the media when a sensible selection is made.”

You can actually sense the disappointment in the media when a sensible selection is made.?
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) September 12, 2016

Here are some of the best replies to his tweet:

@sanjaymanjrekar bari gehri baat ki hai aap ne
— Khurram Shahzad (@Khurram32177687) September 12, 2016

https://twitter.com/jrsharmanand/status/775249866473734146

@sanjaymanjrekar retire kab ho rhe ho commentary se.. vo bhi ek sensible decision hoga..?
— Saurabh ⚡ (@saurabh3g) September 12, 2016

@sanjaymanjrekar how is Rohit Sharma a sensible selection? Oh wait..the old Mumbai connection justifies it all ?!
— Mahadevan (@vmahadevan1) September 12, 2016