Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar Biography

When he returned from the Pakistan tour of 1989-90 with 569 runs at 95, Sanjay Manjrekar had the world at his feet. He played Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Abdul Qadir, and a young Waqar Younis the way few have on Pakistan soil. The quartet, all contenders of an all-time Pakistan XI, tried to get him out, but in vain. He went past 70 five times in seven outings, including a six-hour hundred and a nine-hour double-hundred. Manjrekar was the reason India came back from Pakistan without a defeat.

At that stage of his career his numbers read 784 runs at 60, including a six-hour hundred at Kensington Oval and two forties at Sabina Park — all this after a vicious bouncer from Winston Benjamin hit him over his left eye on his Test debut, forcing him to retire hurt.

They predicted Manjrekar would become the man who would rule the 1990s. The ball went past his bat only when he wanted to; everything was perfect, the way they described and portrayed them in the MCC coaching manual.

But Manjrekar could not convert his immense potential to big scores. The remainder of his career yielded 1,259 runs at a mere 30, his only three-figure score being a nine-hour (but match-saving) 104 against Zimbabwe.

As has been the case of many a talent, an Australia tour (1991-92, in his case) led to his undoing. He faced 64 balls per innings on that tour, grinding it out against Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, and co., but the runs never came even after he got his eyes in. Allan Border never gave him the gaps through which he could place the balls for his runs. As a result he came back with 197 runs at 22 without a fifty, and could never recover.

Before that, however, he was found wanting against the moving ball, especially against Richard Hadlee. Though his career was approaching a glorious end, the master bowler found the chink in Manjrekar’s seemingly impregnable armour. And barring 93 and 50 at Old Trafford, he never got going in England either.

Sanjay Manjrekar’s 2,043 runs came at 38.67, an average eerily similar to his father Vijay’s 39.12. Unfortunately, Manjrekar Sr did not live long enough to see his son pull off miracles at domestic levels: Sanjay would finish with 10,252 First-Class runs at 55. Even in List A cricket, where they thought he would be vulnerable, his 5,175 runs came at 46.

There were several big moments in domestic cricket. He amassed 377 in the Ranji Trophy semi-final of 1990-91. He was leading Bombay that season. They lost the final by 2 runs, but Manjrekar found his way back, leading them to the title in 1996-97.

His ODI numbers, 1,994 runs at 33 and a strike rate of 64, were better than what most think. He played some gems, like the 52-ball 52 not out and 82-ball 103 in consecutive innings against South Africa 1991-92, and the 42-ball 47 in the cliff-hanger against Australia at The Gabba in World Cup 1992. He went past the 50-mark 16 times in 70 innings. He also kept wickets, like his father Vijay (his great-uncle Dattaram Hindlekar was a specialist wicketkeeper).

He held on to his spot till 1996, but the triple-invasion of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman ended his career for good.

A decent singer, he released a music album. He is a columnist and commentator now.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Sanjay Manjrekar Batting & Fielding Averages

Career	M	In	R	NO	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Test	37	61	2043	6	218	37.14	5282	38.67	4	9	220	1	25	1
ODIs	74	70	1994	10	105	33.23	3101	64.30	1	15	99	10	23	0
T20s	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	11	11	295	0	62	26.81	441	66.89	0	1	15	2	5	0

Sanjay Manjrekar Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	37	17	15	0	--	5.294	--	0	0	0/4	0/4
ODIs	74	8	10	1	10.00	7.500	8.000	0	0	1/2	1/2
T20s	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	11	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		1/2

Sanjay Manjrekar Career statistics

News ON Sanjay Manjrekar

Ravindra Jadeja’s Cryptic Post On Sanjay Manjrekar Leaves Twitter Baffled

The Jadeja-Manjrekar controversy started in 2019 World Cup when Sanjay Manjrekar had called Ravindra Jadeja bits and pieces cricketer.

Hats Off To Hardik Pandya: Sanjay Manjrekar Reveals Why Star India All-Rounder Is Playing On A Different Planet

Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels that all-rounder Hardik Pandya is playing the game currently on a ...

There Were Real Important Positives: Sanjay Manjrekar After India’s Loss vs Australia In 1st T20I

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the side's bowling issues, especially its concerns in the death overs, can be ...

Asia Cup 2022: Sanjay Manjrekar Heaps Praise On Two Star Indian Batters

Talking about the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, Manjrekar was impressed with the Indian team's batting formula and their move of testing ...

‘You’re okay na to talk to me, Jaddu?’- Awkward Moment Between Ravindra Jadeja and Sanjay Manjrekar After India Beat Pakistan

After Sanjay Manjrekar's criticism, Ravindra Jadeja also hit back with a few comments and recently things got awkward when both met ...

Hardik Pandya Is A Changed Man, See Sense Of Ambition: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar is surprised with new Hardik Pandya. He feels that the all-rounder has become mature and responsible.

More News on Sanjay Manjrekar

Features ON Sanjay Manjrekar

IND vs NZ: Sanjay Manjrekar Snubs Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma From India’s Playing XI For WTC Final

Sanjay Manjrekar made a surprising exclusion of Ravindra Jadeja from his XI and picked Hanuma Vihari over him.

Where have all the quality No 3 batsmen in Tests gone?

CricketCountry speaks to Dean Jones, Sanjay Manjrekar and Aakash Chopra while trying to assess the situation regarding Test one-downs.

When Sourav Ganguly received a sound ‘lashing’ from Sanjay Manjrekar

The former Indian captain recalls the dressing down he received from Sanjay Manjrekar in his book, A Century Is Not Enough.

Imperfect by Sanjay Manjrekar: Candid, intriguing, and very human

India has not seen a cricket autobiography like Imperfect. By that I do not mean that it is the best book written by an Indian ...

Vijay Manjrekar: 20 facts about the former India batting great

Vijay Laxman Manjrekar was probably the best player of fast-bowling to have ever played for India.

Sanjay Manjrekar: The blade of his bat was the face of perfection

Sanjay Manjrekar’s technique was timeless. It was not just pure as the driven snow, the blade of the bat that he presented was the face ...

More Features on Sanjay Manjrekar

पूजा वस्त्राकर के रन आउट पर विवाद, थर्ड अंपायर के फैसले पर भड़के युवराज सिंह

जसप्रीत बुमराह की चोट पर हेड कोच राहुल द्रविड़ ने दिया जवाब, जानिए क्या कहा ?

सूर्य कुमार यादव से दहशत में दक्षिण अफ्रीकी गेंदबाज, कहा, इस बल्लेबाज से बचना मुश्किल

सरफराज खान ने जड़ा एक और तूफानी शतक, अनोखे अंदाज में मनाया जश्न, VIDEO

एशिया कप में भारतीय महिला टीम की जीत से शुरूआत, श्रीलंका को 41 रन से हराया