There was joy all around as India defeated Bangladesh to seal the series & Ishant Sharma was busy collecting awards for his terrific performance. But day 3 of historic first pink ball test in India was marred by an on-air spat between two bigwig commentators of the country – Sanjay Manjrekar & Harsha Bhogle.
Bhogle commented on the visibility factor of the pink ball as a few batsmen got hit on the helmet. Therefore, he was of the opinion that this issue should be analyzed well and the players should be questioned about this. To which Manjrekar retorted that he doesn’t feel the need to ask players about this as a few good catches have been taken in the slips. Then he went on to add that he can say this with ‘authority’ as he has played first-class cricket for 10-15 years and the ball in that has a similar texture. Bhogle ended the conversation by saying that having played at that level doesn’t have to mean that there is an end to learning.
Fans were quick to take to Twitter and express their frustration at Manjrekar who they thought was being rude. They pointed out that his comments were unnecessary as has been established with similar instances involving other players in the past. There were a few who demanded an apology. Many even went to the extent of saying that the broadcaster should remove him & fans were ready to even start a crowdfunding campaign. Some fans even praised Bhogle for his poise & how he handled the flared-up situation while remaining cool to make his point. That’s typical for Harsha Bhogle & the reason the fans have his back!
