Most Indian fans can easily recall the angry diatribe of Ravindra Jadeja against Sanjay Manjrekar just before India's World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand. They would also remember how, after getting to his half-century in that match, Jadeja made a pointed signal towards the commentary box aimed at Manjrekar.
On his part, the famous commentator accepted that Jadeja 'tore him apart' by his splendid batting in that match. Things seem to have cooled down between the two men, so much so that they are engaging in good-humoured banter on Twitter.
After India's crushing victory over New Zealand in the second T20 of the 5-match series currently underway in the latter country, Manjrekar expressed his disapproval at the choice for man-of-the-match award. This recognition went to KL Rahul for scoring a half-century. The Mumbai-based commentator however, shared his contrarian opinion on his timeline.
"Player of the match should have been a bowler," he wrote. Sometime later, Jadeja, who is known for expressing his views boldly on Twitter and often pays attention to what the commentators are saying about him, gave a light-hearted response to this tweet. "What is the name of that bowler?? Pls pls mention," Jadeja said in a direct reply.
The goofy emoji he posted at the end of the sentence indicated not anger but playfulness. He soon got the answer he sought from the former India cricketer. "Ha ha...Either you or Bumrah. Bumrah, because he was extremely economical while bowling overs no 3, 10, 18 and 20." This is probably the last word in this brief Twitter exchange.
It's good to see that Jadeja and Manjrekar have moved on from their unfortunate spat during the World Cup. The genesis of the entire incident lay in a comment made by the prolific broadcaster during a discussion about which players India should select for the semi-final against New Zealand. Manjrekar disapproved of Jadeja's place in the team and described him as a "bits and pieces cricketer."
This was like a red rag to the bull and the all-rounder went all guns blazing in his response. He wrote: "Still I have played twice the number of matches you have played and I'm still playing. Learn to respect people who have achieved. I have heard enough of your verbal diarrhoea."
While a case could be made for criticizing Manjrekar's comments, it was very wrong on Part of Jaddu to make such an acerbic comment. Sanjay has always been full of praise for Jadeja. To get worked up over one comment and insult a former cricketer with substantial achievements was uncalled for.
