Former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar is no stranger to controversy, and his recent comment at the toss before the Rajasthan Royals vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore match might land him in hot water yet again. Manjrekar’s statement came just before the commencement of the game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, revealing the reason behind the Rajasthan Royals donning an all-pink attire.
Explaining the initiative, Manjrekar mentioned that it was part of the franchise’s Pink Promise campaign, aimed at supporting women-led transformation in Rajasthan. The Royals pledged to power six homes with solar energy for every six hit by both teams during the match.
Additionally, proceeds from sales would be donated to the cause, with a commitment to contribute ₹100 for every ticket sold. However, Sanjay Manjrekar’s statement took a bizarre turn when he concluded with the remark, “now back to serious business,” leaving many perplexed. Despite accurately detailing the franchise’s initiative, his choice of words drew criticism for trivializing the cause.
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“We are all set for the toss but before the coin goes in the air, we have got a special function here. A special day for Rajasthan Royals. Sanju Samson and his Rajasthan Royals team will be sporting an all pink outfit. This is for their pink promise which is a part of initiative that promises to support women leading the rural transformation in Rajasthan. To mark this, the captains will be handed solar lamps,” Sanjay Manjrekar stated before the controversial sign-off.
🚨 Toss Update 🚨
Rajasthan Royals win the toss and elect to field against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/IqTifedknm#TATAIPL | #RRvRCB pic.twitter.com/5l5wvoXLMM
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2024
Following Sanjay Manjrekar’s remarks, social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), erupted with criticism, labeling the comments as distasteful. However, amidst the controversy, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first. At the time of writing, Royal Challengers Bangalore were positioned at 173 for 3 in the 20th over, with the match still in progress.
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Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Saurav Chauhan, Reece Topley, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal
Sanjay Manjrekar talks about RR’s ‘Pink Promise’ initiative (where the team wears pink to amply support to women in rural Rajasthan) and concludes it with: “Now back to serious business”.
These people can’t even do tokenism properly🤦♂️
— Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) April 6, 2024
After speaking about RR’s noble PINK initiative, Sanjay Manjrekar told, “Now let’s get back to serious business…..”
Behave, Mr. Manjrekar!pic.twitter.com/KZ5vnmR87T
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) April 6, 2024
‘Now back to serious business’
what a clown behavior @sanjaymanjrekar 🤡 pic.twitter.com/3HEU9TB6Ou
— Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) April 6, 2024
Sanjay Manjrekar explains RR’s pink promise initiative before the toss, aimed at empowering women in Rajasthan.
Ends his sentence with : “Now back to serious business”.
Last time he slammed crowd and asked them to behave.
The level of commentary is going down day by day #ipl… pic.twitter.com/LfoegFnpY4
— Riseup Pant (@riseup_pant17) April 6, 2024
