“Never wanted to go up the order in Tests”- Sanjay Manjrekar Praises Virat Kohli While Criticising Sachin And Ganguly

Sanjay Manjrekar praised Virat Kohli for his selfless decision to bat at No. 3 in a critical moment, putting the team’s interests ahead of personal preferences.

He differentiates this with the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, who however prefer a white-ball start but were defaulters in alterations of batting order in Tests.

The first Test match between India and New Zealand which was played in Bengaluru made a horrible beginning for India as they lost Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan within the first ten overs as they decided to bat earl under gloomy conditions. This match was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, after a stop of one day due to rain, as the fifty over contest commenced on Thursday with the toss having been won by India’s captain Rohit.

Sanjay Manjrekar praises Virat Kohli while criticising Sachin and Ganguly:

https://x.com/sanjaymanjrekar/status/1846770164282675232

Virat Kohli made yet another dubious performance in a Test match. It was anticipated that he would score heavily in Bengaluru’s first red-ball match against New Zealand, following his lackluster performance in the two-test series against Bangladesh. He did, however, go without bothering the scorekeepers.

Virat entered the game in place of skipper Rohit Sharma when Shubman Gill was declared ineligible due to a stiff neck. Virat’s willingness to alter his batting order was praised by former India National Cricket Team player Sanjay Manjrekar. He also cited the refusals of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar to bat up the order in Test cricket.

“Hats off to Virat Kohli!Coming out to bat at no 3 bcoz the team needed it. Ganguly, Tendulkar were very keen to open in white ball cricket, but never wanted to go up the order in Tests. That’s a true champion right there for you! Virat. 👏👏👏,” Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on X.

Rain delayed play in the opening session of Day 2, and Rohit’s decision to bat first in the cloudy conditions proved expensive for the hosts, as the scorecard read 13/3. Back in the changing room were Rohit(8), Virat(0), and Sarfaraz Khan(0).