"It was so nice of him to accept" - Former India batter praises Rohit Sharma for frank views on Yashasvi Jaiswal dismissal controversy

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Rohit Sharma for candidly admitting that there was enough evidence to give Yashasvi Jaiswal out in the Boxing Day Test against Australia. He opined that with emotions running high among fans, such frank observations are very much welcome.

There was a huge controversy on Day 5 of the Melbourne Test between India and Australia on Monday, December 30 after Jaiswal (84) was adjudged caught behind off Pat Cummins. The on-field umpire did not raise his finger, but third umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat ruled in the fielding side's favor even though the Snickometer did not pick an edge.

Asked for his thoughts on the contentious dismissal at the post-match conference, Rohit agreed that there seemed to be a clear deflection, but also lamented that India often falls on the wrong side of such decisions. Praising Rohit's frank approach over the controversy, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo:

"Rohit Sharma, it was so nice of him to accept. That is what our fans need too because there are a lot of emotions riding. Very often we don't quite look at the picture, but Rohit Sharma nailed it. He said, yes, maybe there was contact."

The 59-year-old went on to add that a more experienced umpire may have ruled in the batter's favor, considering Snicko as the top parameter to make the final call. He, however, added that Saikat couldn't be faulted as there was enough visual evidence even if nothing showed up on Snickometer. Manjrekar elaborated:

"How can you fault Saikat for what he did? He saw UltraEdge, nothing happened. But visually, he was convinced in his mind that the ball has gone past the gloves and suddenly it has turned towards his left and then dies on the keeper. That's an indication of some kind of contact with something. He, in this case, found that the visual evidence, which is also technology, was more compelling than the Snicko."

Jaiswal was India's top-scorer in the second innings, compiling a valiant 84 off 208 balls, occupying the crease for 310 minutes. The left-hander hit only eight fours during his stay out in the middle. However, his effort went in vain as India were bowled out for 155 in a chase of 340.

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Jaiswal is India's leading run-getter in BGT 2024-25

There were some concerns over Jaiswal's technique in Australia ahead of BGT 2024-25. The youngster was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the Perth Test, but since then has adapted his game impressively.

The 23-year-old is currently India's leading run-getter in the Test series and the second-leading overall. In eight innings, he has scored 359 runs at an average of 51.28, with one hundred and two fifties. The southpaw hit 161 in the second innings in Perth, before contributing 80s in both innings in Melbourne.