Former India cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Murali Kartik were involved in an ugly on-air spat on Monday during the ongoing first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle. The incident occurred on Day 3 of the Test, after the first session, with the banter quickly turning personal and leaving social media buzzing.
According to a video shared by Sony Sports, the official broadcaster for the Test series in Sri Lanka, Kartik, who was in the studio, took a cheeky dig at Manjrekar, who was reporting from Galle. The former India spinner mocked Manjrekar’s trademark pout and suggested that it sometimes made it difficult to understand what he was saying on air.
“A gentle request and a big request from one and all here: you have the pout of the century, but because of your pout, we are not able to understand what you say. So, please limit that pout,” Kartik said.
The former India batter did not hold back. Instead, he asked the broadcaster to switch the camera to Ajinkya Rahane, the other expert in the studio, while taking a swipe at Kartik.
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“That’s a bad one. Can we cut… can we make this a split screen and shift the camera to the other guy because he is a much more pleasant person to talk to, and he has got a much more pleasant face as well,” Manjrekar said.
He then took the banter up another notch with a sharp dig at Kartik’s appearance.
“I just wonder, ‘superb, superb, superb,’ Murali Kartik’s voice, looking at himself in the mirror,” he added.
The comment did not sit well with Kartik, who fired back, seemingly offended by the remark.
“I don’t look at myself in the mirror. That’s you. That’s only you,” he responded.
The banter had clearly escalated by then, and before the exchange could turn uglier, Manjrekar attempted to defuse the situation.
“There is an incentive to look in the mirror. For you, I can understand it’s not very motivating,” he said.
“Anyway, we’re both going to cross lines here, and social media will have a field day.”