Former India National Cricket Team batsman Sanjay Manjrekar took a brutal dig at the modern-day batting great Virat Kohli while commentating in the first Test between India and England.
Sanjay Manjrekar dropped his remarks on-air when Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were dominating the England bowling attack at Headingley in Leeds on Friday, June 20.
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Kohli is absent from the ongoing Test series between India and England because a month before it started, the batting superstar had announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.
In his absence, newly-appointed Test skipper Shubman Gill has taken over the No.4 spot and given his No.3 spot to Sai Sudharsan with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opening the innings.
India lost the toss in the Test series opener and were invited to bat first. The opening duo of Rahul and Jaiswal showcased a batting masterclass against Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jos Tongue, and Ben Stokes and took India off to a good start.
Rahul and Jaiswal were mostly untroubled in the middle and became the first opening pair to register a fifty-plus opening stand in the first innings of a Leeds Test since Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen put together 120 runs in 2012.
The brilliant batting show from Rahul and Jaiswal impressed Sanjay Manjrekar, who showered rich praise on the duo, but he also took an opportunity to take a dig at Virat Kohli. Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted how Jaiswal and Rahul left the deliveries outside off-stump very well and said that a former batter (Virat Kohli) would have gotten out chasing the deliveries.
"Deliveries outside the off stump, full, have been left alone. Jaiswal has done that. Anything that has been pitched right up into the stumps, he has driven. Anything that has been wide, he has looked to score on. KL Rahul has not touched one delivery or attempted to play one single delivery that's been full, just outside off. Anything that has been wide, he has gone with a covered drive," said Manjrekar on-air.
"So a lot of what you're seeing is being created by these two batters, and my hat's off to them. We know of a former batter who would have gone after that delivery and gotten himself into trouble. But not these two," he added.
Notably, Virat Kohli's outside off-stump weakness horrified him in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 as he got out chasing deliveries on the fourth and fifth stump lines on eight occasions.
Watch: Sanjay Manjrekar takes brutal dig at Virat Kohli
Sanjay Manjrekar ?️- “We know of a former batter who would have gone after that delivery and gotten himself into trouble” No way he just said this on air about Kohli? The man has retired. Please leave him alone now??♂️??♂️#INDvsENG #ViratKohli #sanjaymanjrekar pic.twitter.com/G8TX46G4XT
— BoyLovesCricket (@boylovescricket) June 20, 2025They have the technique to survive in challenging test conditions - Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar also hailed the inexperienced Indian batting unit, saying that they all have got a good technique to bat in challenging conditions. He said:
“That's why I believe this is a young batting line-up. But when you look at their batting technique, they have the technique to survive in challenging test conditions. Sai Sudarshan as well. T20 Sensation will come and defend well. Down the order, Rishabh Pant has a good defence.
"Jadeja as well. Karun Nair, I'm not sure how he'll go. But these two have shown that, for openers, they're just ideal with their defensive technique."
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