Sourav Ganguly refuses to comment on Sanjay Manjrekar's removal from BCCI's commentary panel

Coronavirus has hogged the spotlight due to its adverse effects across the globe. It is one of the most debatable topics at the moment. But one news that surfaced on Friday attracted everyone was the removal of Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, from the commentary panel of BCCI. The fans were surprised over the step that was taken by the apex council. Moreover, when the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was questioned about the same, he refused to give an answer over it.

Sanjay Manjrekar played 57 Tests and 74 ODIs in which he gathered 4037 runs across all the formats. He bid adieu to international cricket back in 1996. And, after that, he opted commentary as his future in which he excelled a lot but faces the heat, at times, for his controversial comments on air.

Last year, he was brought under the scanner for terming Ravindra Jadeja as ‘bit and pieces’ player. However, the Indian all-rounder made him taste his own words with astonishing performance against New Zealand in the semi-final of the World Cup. Most recent, Sanjay Manjrekar was in trouble for his on-air tussle with his colleague Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box.

BCCI source says that he might be back in future

There have been instances in the past when fans urged BCCI to remove the 54-year-old commentator from their panel. And, their wish was fulfilled by BCCI ahead of the South Africa ODI series that got postponed due to COVID-19. Actually, he was removed from the commentary panel. Manjrekar didn’t travel to Dharamsala and was seen in the Star Sports studio. As the rain abandoned the game, not many noticed the absence of the former player. However, soon news broke into the media that he was removed from BCCI’s commentary panel.

Now, Sourav Ganguly was asked about the same on Saturday. But, he refused to comment on the matter. Later on, a BCCI source said that Sanjay Manjrekar was not part of the commentary panel but that doesn’t mean that he cannot be part of the same in the upcoming series.

“Yes, he wasn’t a part of the panel for this series, but it doesn’t mean that during the next series, he won’t be there. I don’t know what exactly was the trigger,” a BCCI source said as quoted by Sportstar. However, at the moment the three-match ODI series has been postponed due to Coronavirus pandemic.