Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recently triggered debate with his remarks on Virat Kohli’s choice to continue playing ODI cricket. Kohli called time on his T20I career in 2024 following the World Cup and announced his retirement from Test cricket last year. However, he remains a key figure in India’s ODI setup, performing up to the standards. Now, as Kohli continues to score heavily in the ODI format, Manjrekar implied that he opted for the more comfortable option by sticking with ODIs.
"Well, as Joe Root attains new heights in Test cricket, my mind goes to Virat Kohli. He's walked away from Tests, and it's unfortunate that in the five years that he struggled before retiring, that he didn't quite put his heart and soul into finding out the problems as to why he was averaging 31 for five years in Tests. But that he's chosen to play one-day cricket actually disappoints me more, because this is a format which for a top-order batter... is the easiest format," Manjrekar had said in a video on Instagram.
Responding to Manjrekar's comments, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh backed Kohli, saying that players like Kohli inspire the next generation of cricket.
"If it was so easy to score runs in any format, then everyone would have made it. Let's just enjoy what people are doing. They are playing well, winning games, scoring runs, and taking wickets. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter who plays which format. Virat, whether he plays in one format or all formats, has been a fantastic player and a big time match winner for India," Harbhajan said during an event.
"They inspire the next generation. Manjrekar has his own way of thinking. The way I see it is that Virat and these players have played a major role to take this game forward. Virat is an unbelievable player. Even today, if he plays Test cricket, he will be our main player,” Harbhajan said.