Mohammed Shami rips into Sanjay Manjrekar, mocks him as 'Baba' after he predicts drop in pacer's IPL price tag

India's star pacer, Mohammed Shami, didn't mince his words as he hit out at former cricketer-turned-broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar for the latter's remark on the upcoming IPL auction. In an Instagram story, Shami shared a screenshot of a post that shared Manjrekar's opinion on the pacer's auction price, stating that there could be a potential drop in his bidding. Mohammed Shami (L) hit out at Sanjay Manjrekar for the latter's comments on pacer's IPL price tag(Files)

Shami, clearly unhappy with Manjrekar's opinion, ripped into the commentator. He mocked Manjrekar by calling him ‘Baba’ (saint).

“Baba ki jay hoooooo. Thodsa gyan apne future k lie bhi bacha loo kaam aayega Sanjay G? Kisi ko future janna ho to sir se mile (All hail the saint. Leave some of your knowledge for your future too! If anyone wants to know their future, please meet sir),” Shami wrote.

What did Manjrekar say?

The commentator stated that Shami's history with injuries could affect his price in the upcoming IPL auction.

"There will definitely be interest from teams, but given Shami's injury history—and this recent one took a significant amount of time to recover—there’s always a concern about a potential breakdown during the season," Manjrekar had said on Star Sports.

"If a franchise invests heavily and then loses him mid-season, their options become limited. This concern might lead to a drop in his price tag," he added.

Mohammed Shami was away from action since 2023, with his appearance in the 2023 World Cup final being his last international game. Shami has since been nursing his injury, and recently made his comeback to professional cricket in the Ranji Trophy, representing Bengal. The right-arm pacer had an impressive outing on his return, picking four wickets in the first innings.

With Shami returning to cricketing action, speculations are rife that the pacer could be added to India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy mid-way through the five-match series.

Shami was released by Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2025 auction after he was forced to miss the entire 2024 season with injury. The right-armer, however, was one of the side's top performers since its inception in 2022, and played a key role in its title-winning season the same year.

Last year, Shami was the highest wicket-taker in the season, too, registering 28 dismissals to his name in 17 games. His stellar performances in the white-ball games eventually saw Shami in the 15-member squad for the ODI World Cup at home, where he breathed fire with the ball.

Despite missing India's opening three matches, Shami ended as the tournament's highest wicket-taker, with 21 wickets. India, however, lost in the final in Ahmedabad to Australia.

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