Sanjay Majrekar seems to have realised his limits as a cricket commentator in India and is well prepared to not to extend the brief. Dumped from the commentary panel of the bcci.tv by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Majrekar has pleaded to the BCCI Apex Council for his reinstatement ahead of the Indian Premier League 2020.
The former India and Mumbai batsman has promised to not to break the board guidelines. He had invited trouble for being opinionated about the players during LIVE commentary of cricket matches.
While Manjrekar in the past had escaped with his scathing attacks on someone like Sachin Tendulkar and branding Virat Kohli like a flash in the pan who would only last for several years, the trouble brewed for the cricketer-turned-commentator when he called Ravindra Jadeja a bits and pieces all-rounder during the LIVE commentary of the ICC World Cup in England last year.
Manjrekar has since been dumped from the BCCI commentary panel following a formal complaint by the team. The loss of big revenue opportunity it seems has made him realise the importance of adhering to the guidelines.
National daily Times of India has reported that Manjrekar has now written an email to the BCCI Apex Council for his reinstatement ahead of the IPL 2020, which is slated to start in the UAE from September 19. “I will stick to the guidelines laid out by you (the BCCI),” Manjrekar has reportedly stated in an email to the BCCI Apex Council.
“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 may be there was not enough clarity on this issue. Thanks very much, Regards,” the daily has quoted an excerpt from the email.
There is a possibility that Star India may further explore the idea of virtual commentary for the IPL matches as it had done during the experimental 3T Cricket event in South Africa earlier this month when Irfan Pathan from Baroda, Deep Dasgupta from Kolkata and Sanjay Manjrekar from Mumbai had come together from their respective homes for the off-tube LIVE description of the games.