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Cricket Players'Dravid and Donald have been holding the grudge...': Manjrekar reacts to SA legend's public apology to India head coach
Dravid, being the gentleman that he is, accepted Donald's apology and also said he would love to hang out with him. Sanjay Manjrekar, a former India cricketer, had a slightly different opinion on the matter. He said both Donald and must be holding the grudge against each other for this long.
Rahul Dravid and Allan Donald were two of the best cricketers of their time. The former was renowned for his water-tight technique and grit while being 'the wall' at No.3 for India, and the latter was one of the quickest fast bowlers going around, terrorising batters across the globe and winning matches for South Africa. Dravid and Donald have had many battles during their playing days but none more heated than the India vs South Africa ODI in Durban in 1997. Donald had given a mouthful to Dravid, who was batting really well in India's 252-run revised target in 40 overs in the tri-nation series final.
India lost that match by 17 runs and what exactly transpired between Dravid and Donald, was never known but that the two greats were never on great terms was quite evident with the way the former South Africa pacer described the incident and apologised to the former India captain and current head coach.
"There was one ugly incident in Durban that I don't wanna talk about. He (Rahul Dravid) and Sachin were smoking us to all parts. I overstepped the mark a little bit. I've just nothing but massive respect for Rahul. I would like to go out and sit with Rahul and say sorry to him again about what happened that day. I just had to do something silly that brought his wicket actually. But I still apologise for what I said that day. What a guy, what a great bloke. So Rahul, if you are listening. I would love to have a night out with you," Donald, who is the current bowling coach of Bangladesh, said in a video posted by Sony Sports Network during the India vs Bangladesh 1st Test match.
Dravid, being the gentleman that he is, accepted Donald's apology and also said he would love to hang out with him.
Sanjay Manjrekar, a former India cricketer, had a slightly different opinion on the matter. He said both Donald and must be holding the grudge against each other for this long.
"Both of them (Dravid and Donald) have been holding a grudge for a long time. That dinner should have taken place in 1998. And now, if it finally takes place then they should thank me for saying this," he said in a jest on Sony Sports.
Dravid had lovely things to see about Donald when he was shown the great fast bowler's message.
"He doesn't need to apologise at all. It was part and parcel of the game. When you go out and play for your country you try and do the best you can and he certainly did. When you were up against Allan Donald you knew you were in a contest. He was tough and hard. I must admit when I see him now on the ground, I sort of tell him 'It's much nicer to see you like this without a ball in your hand at the top of your mark and with the sunscreen on your face.' He was an intimidating fast bowler. I love to bump into him every now and then and talk a little about fast bowling. He has gone on to become a very successful coach. He is coaching a lot of fast bowlers. We've got a lot of young guys who can pick his brains. It's just great. One of the privileges of my to be able to play against the likes of Donald," he said.
