Cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has once again hogged all the limelight after he took another dig at India’s sensational bowler Ravi Ashwin as he talked about his performance in the ongoing World Test Championship Final against New Zealand.
Ahead of the ongoing World Test Championship Final between India and New Zealand, Sanjay Manjrekar had stirred a controversy by claiming that he doesn’t consider Ashwin an all-time great because he is yet to pick a five-wicket haul in SENA countries, which includes South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia. He had also said that Ashwin’s returns are poor in those nations.
Recently, in interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar took another dig at Ashwin as he talked about his performance in the ongoing WTC Final. He believes that it is high time that Ashwin replicates his performance on turf in overseason conditions and wins games for the team.
Though he maintained that Ravi Ashwin is a quality bowler, however, he claimed that it is now time for him to show his skill outside the country. He said:
“He is surely a high-class bowler but I will again tell everyone that he’s a brilliant match-winner on turning pitches in India. But this is his third tour to England – he’s been to Australia three times and twice to South Africa – and here he hasn’t shown a long impactful spell yet to win the game for India. The time has come for Ashwin to do just that,”
Talking about the performance of Ravi Ashwin, before the end of day 3, he picked up the wicket of New Zealand opener Tom Latham to give India their first breakthrough. He only conceded 20 runs in 12 overs.
Following Ashwin’s wicket, Ishant Sharma provided a second respite to the team as he sent Devon Conway back to the pavilion at the end of Day 3.
Meanwhile, after day 1 was washed out because of the rain, the game suffered another blow as Day 4 was also abandoned due to the English weather. If the weather remains good today, the Kiwis will walk out at 101/2 on Day 5, trailing India’s 217 by 116 runs.
