Virat Kohli completed 11 years in Test cricket on Monday, prompting fans to fondly recall the cricketer’s immense contribution to Team India. However, many also used the opportunity to slam former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar for his old nasty tweet for ‘King Kohli.’
In one of his tweets in 2012, Manjrekar had controversially implied that Kohli did not ‘belong’ to Test cricket. His tweet posted on 6 Jan 2012 had read, “I would still drop VVS & get Rohit in for the next Test. Makes long term sense. give Virat one more test.. just to be sure he does not belong here.”
I would still drop VVS & get rohit in for next test.Makes long term sense. give virat 1 more test..just to be sure he does not belong here.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) January 6, 2012
Kohli proved Manjrekar wrong as he went to become one of the all-time greats in Test cricket. Kohli has so far played 101 Tests, scoring 8043 runs inccluding 27 centuries and 28 half-centuries. He also led India in 68 Test matches, winning 40 of them. This has made him the most successful Test captain of India. Mahendra Singh Dhoni led India in 60 Test matches, winning 27 of them. Sourav Ganguly captained Indian Test team in 49 matches and won 21.
Kohli’s soaring success made Manjrekar change his mind when he tweeted this in 2019, “Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli, amazing all time great batsmen that the Indian waters keep producing. 🙏 Many happy returns Virat!”
Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli, amazing all time great batsmen that the Indian waters keep producing. 🙏
Many happy returns Virat!— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 5, 2019
As expected, Manjrekar is now facing widespread ridicule for his U-turn. Fans of Virat Kohli took to Twitter on Monday to slam Manjrekar and accused him of being a promoter of Mumbai lobby in the Indian cricket. One wrote, “Nothing Sanjay Manjrekar is die hard Mumbai lobby member nothing unexpected from him!”
Another fan commented, “@sanjaymanjrekar flows with the tide…Doesnt own an opinion..speaks what is in demand…if a new comer hears him speak, he would definitely not be able to make out that Sanjay was an ex-cricketer..so let him do the entertainment plz..”
“On the contrary if king Kohli wouldn’t have played his part then Manjrekar might not be a commentator. So, he should be thankful for virat to play so long &save his job. BTW #whocares,” wrote another fan.
Kohli recently stepped down from the role of the captain in Test after India suffered a defeat in South Africa. Rohit Sharma was appointed as Kohli’s replacement.