‘First Vaibhav, then Jaiswal’: Sanjay Manjrekar demands stricter punishment after ICC, BCCI let them ‘get away’

Sanjay Manjrekar feels the sanction handed to Yashasvi Jaiswal is not enough to ensure such incidents don’t happen again. Manjrekar’s opinion stems from Jaiswal’s altercation with Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando , for which he was fined 25 per cent of his match fee and handed a demerit point. After being provoked on his way back to the dressing room following his dismissal, Jaiswal headbutted Fernando, making the offence more serious as the altercation turned physical.

Manjrekar wasn’t happy and indirectly suggested that a stricter punishment should have been handed out to ensure there is no room for any form of physicality in cricket.

“ Vaibhav for Ind A recently & now Jaiswal… if you keep letting them get away with such behaviour, you train them to repeat such behaviour. It’s not good for the sport & crucially their own future too,” Majrekar posted on X.

As the former India batter pointed out, this wasn’t the first instance of an Indian cricketer being involved in a heated spat with a Sri Lankan player. A couple of months ago, in June, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, playing for India A, shoved Sri Lanka A cricketer Vishen Halambage after a closely fought Super Over contest ended on a sour note. Both players were fined 50 per cent of their match fees. Tilak Varma and Niroshan Dickwella, too, were fined for their part in the confrontation. Even then, Manjrekar was critical of Sooryavanshi, saying he would have dropped him for the next match.

Surprisingly, Jaiswal himself issued a strong reaction to a video in which Harsha Bhogle said he wasn’t a fan of how the Indian opener conducted himself. Bhogle wasn’t being critical of Jaiswal. In fact, he was full of praise for the 27-year-old and his abundant talent. But if Jaiswal was willing to dish it out – such as when he sledged Dickwella during the Galle Test – he should also have the courage to take it when it comes back at him.

“If you don’t know what he said, then please don’t make your judgment. If anyone crosses the line, we need to let them know that this India will fight and reply,” Jaiswal posted on the same video.

As it turned out, it wasn’t the last instance of players from the two teams getting into exchanges. When it was Sri Lanka’s turn to bat, Mohammed Siraj had a verbal exchange with Kamil Mishara, forcing the umpires to step in. Later in the day, substitute fielder Sarfaraz Khan got under the skin of Dhananjaya de Silva and Niroshan Dickwella.

Aditya Bhattacharya is the Sports Editor at Hindustan Times Digital, with close to 15 years of experience in sports journalism. Over the course of his career, he has worked with leading media organisations including Cricbuzz, The Times of India, Network18 and Zee. Primarily a cricket writer, Aditya has covered several marquee events, including the 2016 ICC World T20, the 2019 ICC World Cup in England and the 2023 World Cup in India. His reporting portfolio also includes international cricket across England, South Africa and New Zealand, along with forays into tennis, including coverage of the Australian Open. He has interviewed several prominent athletes across sports.