Sanjay Manjrekar was a key part of the World Cup 2019 even though he was not playing. He has become the tournament’s biggest off-field controversy when he said Ravindra Jadeja a “bits and pieces” cricketer only to be slammed back by the spinner all-rounder.
Jadeja whipped at the former India batsman saying that he has had enough of the “verbal diarrhea”. Even the issue had an impact on Manjrekar’s relation with former England captain Michael Vaughan who the Indian had blocked for teasing him with the ‘bits and pieces’ tweet.
Manjrekar has now come up with his own World Cup XI like many others and told that it was not an easy task to do. Manjrekar picked three Indians, two Englishmen, Australians, and Black Caps and one Pakistani and Bangladeshi in his XI.
From India, he picked both Rohit Sharma and India captain Virat Kohli who failed to make the semi-finals and Kane Williamson was preferred as the skipper of his team.
He set the openers as Jason Roy who added 17 runs for 20 deliveries in finals and Rohit the man to make five centuries in a single edition of World Cup. At No.3, Manjrekar picked Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who had picked up 11 wickets in the World Cup and smashed a record of 600 runs.
At No.4, the captain of India, Virat Kohli was picked, who scored 443 runs but couldn’t make a single hundred in the World Cup. Williamson was picked at No.5 who made 578 runs and picked the man of the series award.
Manjrekar wanted Alex Carey, Australia wicket-keeper, who has collected 375 runs and effected 20 dismissals. The former India batsman then surprised all by opting for Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner at No.7 who bowled at an impressive average of below five.
Manjrekar chose tournament topper Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi, and the consistent Jasprit Bumrah as the four seamers in the side.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s World Cup Xl:
- Rohit Sharma
- Jason Roy
- Shakib Al Hasan
- Virat Kohli
- Kane Williamson
- Alex Carey
- Mitchell Santner
- Mitchell Starc
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Jofra Archer
- Shaheen Afridi
