ENG vs IND 2025: Sanjay Manjrekar takes sly dig at Virat Kohli during commentary

Published - 20 Jun 2025, 20:34 IST | Updated - 20 Jun 2025, 21:34 IST

Former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar, sparked buzz on social media after he made a remark on Virat Kohli while commentating during Day 1 of the first Test between England and India. The incident occurred after the fifth ball of the 21st over had been bowled.

KL Rahul was on strike. Brydon Carse bowled a full length delivery which was well outside the line of the off stump. Rahul left the delivery alone. Manjrekar, who was a part of the commentary panel, implied to a 'former batter' who would've chased the widish delivery.

"Potentially wicket-taking, outside the off-stump full and they have been left alone. Jaiswal has done that, anything that has pitched right up onto the stumps is driven and anything that has pitched wide is not disturbed. We know a former batter who would have gone after it and got himself into trouble but not these two (Rahul and Jaiswal)," Manjrekar remarked during the live broadcast.

It took no time for netizens to read between the lines. A widespread wave of criticism engulfed social media, with many of the general cricket fans condemning Manjrekar's intentions of trying to dig deep on Kohli's past even after the ace batter's retirement from Test cricket.

For the unversed, deliveries on the fifth and sixth stump line had been a weakness of Kohli in the red-ball game in the recent past. He was dismissed in a similar fashion on eight of the nine instances during the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

Kaif, fans slam team management as Easwaran gets overlooked

Speaking of how the day has unfolded up until now, India seem to be on top. By the time Tea was called, they were 215/2 at the end of 51 overs. Jaiswal had made his way to a splendid century in his first Test in England. Shubman Gill had also got to his half-century at a decent clip.