During the first Test between England and India, former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar took a sharp dig at Virat Kohli while commentating. The match, held at Headingley, Leeds, is the opening game of a five-match series. England’s captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first.
India’s innings began with an impressive opening partnership of 91 runs between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. The pair applied pressure on the English bowlers before Rahul was dismissed for 42.
Test debutant Sai Sudharsan struggled, getting out for a four-ball duck. However, captain Shubman Gill made a solid contribution by scoring a half-century after stepping into the important number four batting position. Meanwhile, Jaiswal impressed further by scoring a century in his first Test match in England.
Sanjay Manjrekar takes a sharp jab at Virat Kohli during commentary
During India’s 2025 tour of England, commentator Sanjay Manjrekar made a subtle but pointed remark about Kohli without mentioning him by name. In the first session of the match, after Rahul left a ball on the off-side, Manjrekar said:
“We know of a former batsman who would have attacked that delivery and got himself into trouble,” he remarked on air.
This comment came in the 21st over when England’s pacer Brydon Carse bowled outside off-stump to Rahul. The clip of this moment was later shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Sanjay Manjrekar Again Cooked Virat Kohli😭😭#INDvsENG . pic.twitter.com/ldkwOCRKSG
— Hrsha (@Hrsha_45) June 20, 2025
Notably, Kohli struggled significantly with deliveries outside off stump during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia. He was dismissed multiple times by edging such balls. Last month, Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, just before India’s 2025 tour of England.
Meanwhile, India got off to a strong start after being asked to bat first. At the time of writing, they had scored over 260 runs for the loss of three wickets. Jaiswal played an impressive innings, scoring 101 runs off 159 balls, before falling to Stokes during the third session.
