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'Makes No Sense': Manjrekar Blasts Rohit, Gambhir For Sarfaraz Khan's Batting Demotion

Anurag Dasgupta

Rohit, Gambhir slammed by Manjrekar [Source: PTI] Rohit, Gambhir slammed by Manjrekar [Source: PTI]

India's batting has been dismal throughout the ongoing Test series Vs New Zealand. In the first Test, they got bundled out for a paltry 46, and the poor form with the bat continued in the second and third Test as well. The team is filled with top-class players but they have all been exposed against a resilient Kiwi attack.

Manjrekar slams Rohit, Gambhir

Moreover, the captain-coach duo of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir have taken some baffling decisions throughout the course of the series, and one of them was to demote Sarfaraz Khan to number 8 in the ongoing Mumbai Test match.

On Day 1, India promoted Mohammed Siraj as the nightwatchman, a decision which was questioned by the former cricketers. Now, on Day 2, Sarfaraz Khan was asked to bat further down the order to incorporate the left-right combination.

As a result, Sarfaraz Khan failed to deliver the goods and was dismissed by Ajaz Patel for duck. After Sarfaraz's dismissal, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the team management for their bizarre decision to demote the batter at a venue where he has Bradmanesque average.

"A guy in form, has 3 fifties in his first 3 Tests, gets 150 in the Bangalore Test, a good player of spin, pushed back in the order to keep left & right combination?? Makes no sense. Sarfaraz now walking in at no 8! Poor call by India," Manjrekar posted on X.

In his last 6 innings at the Wankhede Stadium, Sarfaraz has slammed 601 runs, at an average of 150.25.

India in a tricky situation on Day 2

India have surely taken the lead against the Kiwis, but they are still in a dire situation, having lost 9 wickets. At one stage, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill took India to a strong position, but Pant's wicket changed the course of the match.

Ravindra Jadeja followed him soon and with Gill departing in the 90's, things turned from bad to worse for the home team. The Indian side got bundled out for 262 runs, with a lead of 27 runs.