Manjrekar, Karthik in ugly on-air spat during India-Sri Lanka Test

Former India cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Murali Karthik had an ugly exchange on live television during the third day of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle. The spat began when Karthik took aim at Manjrekar's pout on air. "You have the pout of the century, but because of your pout, we are not able to understand what you say. So, please limit that pout," Karthik said, according to Times Now News.

Manjrekar retaliated by asking the director to cut the camera towards Ajinkya Rahane, who is commentating for the first time after retiring. "Can we make this split screen and shift the camera to the other guy because he is a much more pleasant person to talk to, and he has got a much more pleasant face," Manjrekar said. When Karthik replied, Manjrekar warned, "We're both going to cross lines here, and social media will have a field day." The exchange ended before it could escalate further, reported both outlets.

Manjrekar has a history of on-air spats, including one with Harsha Bhogle in 2019. Sports NDTV noted that Ravindra Jadeja had earlier called out Manjrekar for his comments during the 2019 ODI World Cup. On the field, India bowled out Sri Lanka for 284 to take a 178-run lead at stumps on day three. Rain had washed out almost 70 overs in Galle. India will resume batting on day four with Yashasvi Jaiswal and K. L. Rahul at the crease.