“Mujhe kuch nahi farak padta” - When Sanjay Manjrekar opened up about how an Indian legend graciously reacted to criticism

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda in 2021, Sanjay Manjrekar recalled an incident about how former Indian batter Rahul Dravid responded to his criticism.

It all happened when Dravid received an ODI recall ahead of the 2009 Champions Trophy due to his impressive performances in the Test format. The right-hander was dropped from the 50-over side in October 2007 after he managed to score only 51 runs at an average of 10.20 in the seven-match ODI series against Australia, which India lost 2-4 (one no result).

Rahul Dravid emerged as the second-highest run-scorer with 100 runs in three innings, as India won the 2009 Compaq Cup. Despite impressive performances, Sanjay Manjrekar termed the decision to call back Dravid as a 'backward step' ahead of the Champions Trophy.

"I don't see any long-term plan behind that. It's because India were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup, and the way they were knocked out, that prompted Dravid's recall," Manjrekar was quoted as saying by India Today.

"Our frontline batters got exposed in the tournament and that's how Dravid came into it. I think it was a backward step," he added.

However, the newspapers floated headlines of Manjrekar wanting 'The Wall' out of the side. After his comments were not reproduced correctly, Manjrekar met Dravid in Johannesburg during the Champions Trophy, while he was serving as a commentator.

Here's what Sanjay Manjrekar revealed about what Rahul Dravid told him while the former was trying to clear out the confusion. The former cricketer said:

"We reached South Africa and the match was at Wanderers, so we reached the ground, Rahul was typically watching the pitch and he was playing that match and I reached there to do my commentary. I told him that Rahul, we speak in Marathi, he speaks a little Marathi and he does not practice so much, so I used to do it more."

"I told him that the headline that has come is a bit misleading. What I actually wanted to say is this and Rahul just stopped me and said, Sanjay please you can say whatever you want about me, I don't care. Mujhe kuch nahi farak padta (It doesn't matter to me), please you have the freedom to say anything you want," he continued.

"Because somewhere I felt but it happens that you know what I say is with no malice and agenda, so when he said that, I came to know that he is a different person, a different cricketer. So I found it really very touching and [it shows you] why Rahul Dravid continues to be one of the most respected Indian cricketers," Manjrekar concluded.

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Did Sanjay Manjrekar and Rahul Dravid bat together for India?

As per ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar and Rahul Dravid batted together in two Test matches and a solitary ODI game for India, both in 1996. Although their partnership could last only four runs in the 50-over fixture, they performed well in the longest format.

The duo stitched together a 61-run stand against England in Nottingham in July 1996, where Dravid ended up slamming 84, as the match ended as a draw. Later in the same year, they were involved in a 41-run stand against South Africa in Ahmedabad, which saw the hosts win by 64 runs.