Sanjay Manjrekar has never been shy of expressing his opinions, no matter how misguided they are. In the past, you could have forgiven his misguiding and chalked it up to a professional opinion but these days, the cricketer-turned-commentator has been sniffing a bit of misogynist glue on LIVE TV.
Fans of the sport who have been following the Indian Women’s Cricket Team through the course of this World Cup have been rather dismayed at his objectification of Richa Ghosh. You see, Manjrekar seems to have been rather taken by her smile than her cricketing abilities and he’s been making it a subject of his commentary.
Sanjay Manjrekar is one of the worst commentators ever. Has zero knowledge of women’s game. Keeps saying Richa Ghosh has a lovely smile everytime she is on screen. Not to mention comparison of every cricketer to a male Indian cricketer. #IndvBan #CWC22
— Mohit Raj (@_MohitRaj) March 22, 2022
Ghosh has a ‘great smile’, has become his trademark catchphrase while describing her cricketing abilities.
That’s right, this is the difficult pitch, and India has already got one wicket.
— Passionate Cricket Fan 💜 (@BhavaniBunty) March 22, 2022
Ypu do a better cricket analysis than @sanjaymanjrekar & @cricketaakash.
Sanjay says – “Richa has a great smile”, & he claims that’s his analysis on Richa’s cricketing skills.
#EverydaySexism https://t.co/bASprIarHM
— Kiran Manral (@KiranManral) March 22, 2022
Everytime Sanju Manju is asked to speak about Richa Ghosh he goes, “She’s got a lovely smile on her face. She’s always smiling.
— Vaishnavi (@VaishSrini93) March 22, 2022
She’s got a fantastic smile all the time. You’ll see her smile whenever she bats/keep wickets.”
Dei, do you even know anything else about her? #CWC22
My 9 year boy knows more about her and has a better understanding of Women’s cricket. Such a colossal idiot Sanju Manju is. I prefer watching all cricket on mute now. The commentary so mediocre. https://t.co/d9ANyGYzac
— tazeen nadiadwala (@tazeen_n) March 22, 2022
If I was there, I’d put it this way – “What do you like about Richa Ghosh’s batting other than her smile?”#CWC22 https://t.co/BSD8Vsw9hr
— 𝕬𝖓𝖐𝖎𝖙 (@outof22yards) March 22, 2022
The standard of Indian cricket has improved and touched new heights and at the same time the commentary standards have seen a steep decline.
— Javaid (@JavaidSpeaks) March 22, 2022
Everytime Sanju Manju is asked to speak about Richa Ghosh he goes, “She’s got a lovely smile on her face. She’s always smiling.
— Raj kumar 🍀🤞 (@RajSmart981) March 22, 2022
She’s got a fantastic smile all the time. You’ll see her smile whenever she bats/keep wickets.”
Dei, do you even know anything else about her? #CWC22 . https://t.co/poJ70f1qps
The standards of Indian commentators have always been on the side of mediocre with perpetual bad takes, no reliance on statistics but only FeElInGs and EmOtIoNs, Indian fans haven’t got much of a choice in the matter.
That said, Manjrekar’s sexism is abhorrent and undeniable and needs to be called out. You are a professional commentator with the responsibility of calling a game… a World Cup no less. And there are a million things to talk about Richa Ghosh; her wicket keeping, her abilities as a batter, none of which are remotely related to how the muscles in her cheeks function.
Reducing a professional cricketer representing her country at the biggest stage of them all to her smile is not just lazy but an insult to her abilities and the abilities of all women in the sport.
