Commentating for Star Sports on the third day of the maiden day/night Test in India, Bhogle wondered aloud whether visibility had been an issue for players. His curiosity stemmed from the fact that Bangladesh batsmen had found the going very difficult against short-pitched bowling with two of their players – Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan – suffering concussions from blows to the helmet.

The exchange about the visibility of the ball was initiated by Bhogle. “When there’s a post-mortem done on this game, visibility of the ball will be a big factor against that white sight-screen,” Bhogle offered.

Two concussion subs were pressed into play at #INDvBAN yesterday. But cricket still isn't doing enough for safety, argues @ojerson8.https://t.co/soPnTp7pbA

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 23, 2019

Manjrekar’s response began with a terse “don’t think so”. “If you’ve seen some of the catches taken in the slips, I don’t think visibility is an issue at all, the texture of the ball is an issue. These batsmen aren’t getting hit on the head because they can’t see the ball – it’s just too quick and bouncy for them,” Manjrekar continued.

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Bhogle held his ground, insisting that it was best to get input from the players about their experience rather than relying solely on opinions formed from watching the action. “Like in any good investigation, you check all possibilities before arriving at the final answer. It’s worth an ask,” he maintained.

As Bhogle went on to elaborate on his point, Manjrekar repeatedly interrupted him.

Bhogle: “Definitely ask batsmen on both sides whether…

Manjrekar: “So you think Virat wasn’t seeing the ball properly? Or Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara?

Bhogle: Just ask all of them ‘what do you think’, because if pink-ball cricket is going to be a regular feature…

Manjrekar: “I think we have a good indication watching from the outside whether a batsman is seeing the ball properly or not.”

Bhogle: “It doesn’t cost anything to ask, it’s always good to know everyth…”

Manjrekar: “Might as well ask everything (with a patronising chuckle), right? Ask the players everything and say nothing from here.”

India have now won each of their seven World Test Championship matches, which is also their longest winning streak ever. Plus, they have become the first team to win four consecutive Tests by an innings margin!

Is this the best Indian Test team of all time? pic.twitter.com/14Whj8vHg0

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 24, 2019

Bhogle’s refusal to blindly accept Manjrekar’s version of the debate seemed to irk the former India and Mumbai cricketer to an extent where he made a barb at Bhogle’s lack of competitive playing experience.

“Well, you need to ask Harsha. For us who have played the game, we’d get a fair idea about what’s happening… I say this with some authority because 10-15 years of first-class cricket, that’s what we did. A ball very similar in texture to this one.”

Bhogle then made a prudent point about how prior experience in the field shouldn’t shut the doors on learning more about it. “When you play the game, Sanjay, you get a very good idea about what the conditions are, but it cannot be a limitation to learning.”

[caption id=”attachment_128276″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Harsha Bhogle hasn’t played competitive cricket, but is one of the most experienced cricket commentators in the circuit[/caption]

Manjrekar has developed a reputation for making provocative remarks. For the most part, those comments have been directed at players, which have often been met with vocal disapproval from the likes of Kieron Pollard and Ravindra Jadeja.

Pollard had taken major offence to Manjrekar’s on-air contention that the West Indian didn’t have the brains to bat higher up the order for Mumbai Indians during the IPL 2017. His comments came only a few months after Darren Sammy, during his victorious campaign at the World T20 2016 in India, had called Mark Nicholas out for describing his West Indian team as being short on brains – a comment for which Nicholas later offered an “unreserved apology”.

More recently, Manjrekar drew flak from India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for calling him a “bits and pieces” cricketer. Manjrekar then seemed to publicly mock Jadeja on Twitter immediately after the India-New Zealand semi-final clash at the 2019 World Cup, where the all-rounder fell agonisingly short of earning India a miracle win.