Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India cricketer cum commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a dig at former India coach Ravi Shastri for his comments on Virat Kohli leaving Test captaincy. Manjrekar called Shastri's remarks 'agenda-driven'. Ravi Shastri, while commenting on Virat Kohli resigning from red-ball captaincy, had taken a quip at Kohli's critics by saying that many people would not have digested the former captain's success.
Talking about the same, Sanjay Manjrekar said that although he respects Ravi Shastri, he doesn't find his comments 'very intelligent' these days. The former Mumbai cricketer, however, agreed that Virat Kohli should have led India in Tests for two more years.
"I was a huge admirer of Ravi Shastri. I played under him, he gave players support, a great fighter, senior. This Shastri 2.0 I don’t understand. What he says in public is expected, I don’t react to it. I don’t want to be disrespectful. He doesn’t make very intelligent comments, you can see the agenda behind it. It’s not an accurate cricketing observation,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying by News18.
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Notably, Shastri had said on India Today that Virat Kohli could have led India in Test matches for at least two more years. He also added that Kohli could have easily ended as one of the greatest Test captains in the history of cricket but then some people would not have digested his success.
Rohit Sharma is the only deserving candidate to take over captaincy: Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar also talked about India's next Test captain and said that there is no better option than Rohit Sharma at the moment. He accepted that Sharma is not a long-term option but the selectors can go with Sharma for an interim period and look for a long-term in the meantime.
“The only deserving candidate in all three forms is Rohit Sharma. He is pretty good in T20s. We have seen in the IPL, naturally. In one-dayers, he has captained on occasions, looks the part, and Test matches, after that performance in England, is the most deserving candidate,” said Manjrekar.
Let’s not pre-empt, because I don’t think there are other exciting options at the moment. Maybe after a year or two, you might find someone.," he added.
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