Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar is celebrating his 59th birthday today. Born on July 12, 1965, in a cricketing family, Manjrekar was surrounded by a lot of hype in his early days. However, the middle-order batter is known more for his commentary stints than on-field actions.
Son of former India Test cricketer Vijay Manjrekar, Sanjay burst into the scene with his impressive batting in the Cooch Behar Trophy as a schoolboy. He was also part of the team that won the Vizzy Trophy and the Rohinton Baria Trophy at the university level in 1985.
In the same year, Manjrekar made his first-class cricket debut. He scored 57 runs in his only innings for Bombay in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final win over Haryana. His first century in first-class cricket was in the 1986–87 season when he scored an unbeaten 100 in the first innings against Baroda. In October 1987, the right-hander scored his maiden double-century (278 runs off 376 balls).
A sudden decline just as the success began
Manjrekar made his international debut in late 1987 against West Indies in Delhi. He did not have a great start to his career. His first half-century in international cricket was during an ODI match against New Zealand in 1988. Manjrekar enjoyed a successful outing the following year, particularly in the tours of the West Indies and Pakistan.
In fact, the Mangalore-born cricketer was the best batter on tour. He slammed brilliant centuries against both teams that featured lethal bowlers like Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Ian Bishop, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan.
Unfortunately, his career soon took a steep decline, which ultimately cost him a place in the Indian team. Manjrekar played his final match as an opener against South Africa in 1996. He scored 34 runs in the first innings and 5 runs in the second in his last dance. He brought down the curtains after scoring 2,043 Test runs in 37 matches, and 1994 ODI runs in 74 matches.
After retiring from professional cricket, Manjrekar took up the role of commentator. He is a regular presence on the commentary panel of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. Notably, he has been involved in several controversies regarding his choice of words.