Born on 12 July, 1965 at Mangalore in Karnataka. Sanjay is the son of Vijay Manjrekar, India’s batting star of the ‘fifties and one of the finest batsmen to have played for India.
A right-handed middle order batsman and occasional leg spinner and wicket keeper, he was looked upon by many as the second Gavaskar, because of his correct technique. Though he performed well in patches, Sanjay did not really reach the heights, which his supporters - and perhaps he, himself – had expected him to touch.
Manjrekar Jr. made a disastrous debut in tests, playing against the West Indies in 1987, when he was hit on the lips by a rising delivery from Winston Benjamin. Nearly a year and a half later, he returned to the Indian side that toured the Caribbean Islands in 1988 and batted brilliantly against a hostile pace attack. He scored a hundred in only his second test at Bridgetown. He then made 569 runs against Pakistan in seven innings, scoring a hundred at Karachi and a double hundred at Lahore. In 1992, he scored his last test century, a painstaking effort of 500 minutes. It was the slowest ever innings by an Indian.
Playing 37 tests, he scored 2,043 runs at an average of 37.14. In 74 one-dayers, he scored 1,994 runs at an average of 33.23 with one hundred. Sanjay made an exit from top class cricket after the 1996-97 tour of India by the South Africans. He led Mumbai imaginatively in the Ranji Trophy championships for a couple of years before quitting first class cricket to find greener pastures in the media.
A talented singer – having cut an album – and a keen student of the game, Sanjay is now a TV commentator and is employed with Air India.