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'Such Racist...' - Netizens Target Sanjay Manjrekar For Absurd Take On North Indian Players

Sanjay Manjrekar faces flak over 'North India' players comment (@Vipintiwari952, @PTI/X.com)Sanjay Manjrekar faces flak over 'North India' players comment (@Vipintiwari952, @PTI/X.com)

Sanjay Manjrekar found himself in hot water after making a controversial remark during Star Sports' Hindi commentary for the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup. His comments on India Women's team fielding coach Munish Bali sparked a backlash online, with fans calling for his ouster from the commentary panel.

India Women faced New Zealand Women in Group A clash of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup on October 4 in Dubai. India failed to chase a decent total of 160 runs to endure a humiliating 58-run defeat. The game was also marred by a dead ball controversy that led to a heated confrontation between captain Harmanpreet Kaur and on-field umpires.

Sanjay Manjrekar called 'racist' by furious fans

However, to add to the already existing drama, commentator Sanjay Manjrekar grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons. During the second innings, the camera panned to India's coaching staff and Manjrekar identified head coach Amol Muzumdar and assistant coach Aavishkar Salvi, both from Mumbai.

However, he failed to recognise Munish Bali, the team's fielding coach, who hails from Punjab. Manjrekar casually remarked, "Sorry, main unko pehehchaana nahi. North ke players ki taraf mera zyaada dhyaan nahi hota."

This comment immediately sparked a backlash online, with fans accusing Manjrekar of bias toward cricketers from Mumbai. Not only that, many X users (formerly known as Twitter) called Manjrekar racist and urged ICC to ban him from the commentary panel effective immediately.





Having said that, this strong reaction was further fuelled by recent events, where Manjrekar had praised Rohit Sharma's captaincy during India's Test series win over Bangladesh, thus intensifying the debate about regional bias in Indian cricket. 

The controversy also resurfaced older sentiments regarding the supposed influence of the "Mumbai lobby" in Indian cricket, especially regarding national team selections.