India seemed to have clawed their way back on Day 4 of the 4th Test against Australia as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli scripted a beautiful partnership of 102 runs for the third wicket. However, a horrible mix-up between Jaiswal and Kohli cost the former his wicket. While there remain different theories over who should be blamed for Jaiswal’s dismissal, former India cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Irfan Pathan got engaged in a heated argument in the post-day show for the broadcaster Star Sports.
Manjrekar felt that Kohli should’ve responded to Jaiswal’s call and taken the single as it was the latter who was running at the danger end. Pathan, however, disagreed, saying Kohli was also at the risk of getting run-out at the striker’s end as the shot hit from Jaiswal was quite hard.
“Ball was going slow, I don’t think Kohli would’ve been runout. It was Jaiswal’s call. Maybe a risky run but he was at the danger end, not Kohli. It was a schoolboy error from Virat that he looked back and decided it wasn’t a run. If it was a bad call from Jaiswal, he would’ve gotten out at the non-striker’s end,” Manjrekar said.
Lafda between Irfan and Sanjay Manjrekar pic.twitter.com/F2huaodmBn
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Irfan, on the other hand, countered Manjrekar’s version, saying Kohli probably wans’t confident taking the run as he saw how fast the ball went to the fielder, Pat Cummins. The former India all-rounder also maintained that as a non-striker, Virat also has the right to turn down a run if he feels it is risky.
The two former cricketers even overlapped each other at times, prompting Manjrekar to even say: “If you don’t want to let me talk, it’s alright”.
Heated Argument Between Sanjay Manjrekar And Irfan Pathan, Sanjay Manjrekar Was Defaming Virat Kohli While Irfan Pathan Was Defending Virat Kohli ( On Yashasvi Jaiswal Run Out)#INDvsAUS #ViratKohli #YashasviJaiswal#AUSvINDIA pic.twitter.com/8YmOcA8JyL
— Harsh 17 (@harsh03443) December 27, 2024
Manjrekar even lost his cool as Irfan continued to press his opinion. He said: “Irfan Pathan’s new interpretation of whether it is a run or not, should be added to the coaching manual.”
Later during the discussion, Manjrekar even attributed Kohli’s dismissal to the ‘guilt’ he must have felt after playing a role in Jaiswal’s dismissal.
“Kohli’s dismissal probably also down to the guilt he had inside his heart over Jaiswal’s run-out. He was leaving outside-off deliveries until then but lost his concentration after the run-out incident,” he said.
