Indian Premier League broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar found himself in hot water when he made an insensitive remark saying, "Now back to serious business," after introducing a women-empowerment initiative by Rajasthan Royals. During the toss between the Sanju Samson-led team and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Manjrekar introduced a drive aimed at supporting the rural women leading social change. The team even donned pink jerseys to signify women's empowerment. However, Manjrekar's comment seemed to draw attention away from the special moment.
Soon after the toss, netizens took notice of Manjrekar's inapt comment and slammed him for trivialising an initiative for women's empowerment. This is not the first time that the former cricketer has made headlines for a faux pas while broadcasting or commentating during a match.
Rajasthan Royals' Pink Promise
During the April 6 IPL match at Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals unveiled an initiative to support rural women of the State who are leading societal change. Donning pink jerseys in support of the program, the team also announced that they will dedicate a portion of every ₹100 spent on tickets for this match to support women-led rural transformation in Rajasthan.
The Sanju Samson-led team and the Royal Rajasthan Foundation also pledged to illuminate six homes in the Sambhar region with solar power for every sixer hit during the match by either team. During the toss, a woman by the name of Bhawri Devi also presented Samson and RCB captain Faf du Plessis with solar lamps.
Manjrekar's Commentary Needs A 'Serious' Check
While introducing the Pink Promise initiative, Sanjay Manjrekar's comment insinuating that women's empowerment was not serious enough for the attention received well-deserved flak. Netizens pointed out how the cricketer-turned-broadcaster could not even perform tokenism appropriately.
Some netizens slammed him saying, 'Behave Sanjay', hinting at another recent controversy that Manjrekar landed in. During the Mumbai Indians vs RR match on April 1, Manjrekar told the crowd to "behave" while introducing Hardik Pandya, whose initiation as MI captain received boos and thumbs-downs from the Wankhede Stadium.
Even in 2019, Manjrekar received social media backlash when he called Ravindra Jadeja a "bits and pieces" player during the ODI World Cup. In another incident from November 2019, Manjrekar got involved in an on-air verbal spat with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle and was later removed from the BCCI's commentary panel.
Manjrekar's repeated insensitive commentating has garnered criticism from cricket fans across the nation. The most recent slip-up has also drawn attention to mainstream media's virtue-signalling and performative activism towards women's or minorities' issues. These open conversations about the media's genuine motives while promoting advocacy efforts.
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