Former India i Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Manoj Tiwary launched a blistering attack on Current India head coach Gautam Gambhir. In a series of scathing remarks, Tiwary criticized Gambhir’s handling of team selection and accused him of hypocrisy, claiming that Gambhir does not practice what he preaches.
Tiwary and Gambhir have shared dressing rooms in the past, both for Delhi in domestic cricket and KKR in the IPL. However, their friendship seems to have soured, with Tiwary openly questioning Gambhir’s decisions during India’s recent Test series against Australia and New Zealand.
Tiwary questions Gambhir’s team
The criticism started with Tiwary’s frustration over Akash Deep’s exclusion from the playing XI during the course Granica-Gavaskar Trophy. He argued that the selection of Harshit Rana over Akash Deep was unfair, citing Akash’s superior first-class record.
“Why should Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana not support Gautam Gambhir? Harshit played in Perth in place of Akash Deep. What did Akash Deep do wrong? He provided fantastic games against Bangladesh and New Zealand. As a fast bowler, you dream of bowling in friendly conditions, but he was dropped for Harshit, who lacks first-class experience. It is a biased selection,” Tiwary told Hindustan Times.
Tiwary also accused Gambhir of favoring certain players, suggesting that this bias was the reason why some cricketers came to the defense of the head coach.
Domestic abuse and Sourav Ganguly remarks resurface
Taking further criticism, Tiwary recalled the ugly spat with Gambhir during Early trophy answer. He claimed that Gambhir abused his family and made derogatory comments about former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
“When he fought with me during the Ranji Trophy match in Delhi, everyone heard what he said. Whether it was about Sourav Ganguly or my family, Gautam crossed the line. He was protected by certain people, and that is the PR I am talking about,” added Tiwary.
The former batsman believes such incidents highlight Gambhir’s flawed leadership style and accused him of being protected by public relations tactics.
A critique of Padikkal’s inclusion
Tiwary did not stop at fast bowlers. He also questioned Devdutt PadikkalA surprising inclusion in the Test squad, especially when experienced players like Abhimanyu Easwaran were overlooked.
“How did Devdutt Padikkal make it to the Test team? He was out of the equation. Abhimanyu Easwaran has scored a ton of runs in domestic cricket. Why wasn’t he chosen to play at number 3?” asked Tiwary.
Tiwary defends his statements
Tiwary stood his ground, rejecting claims that his remarks were motivated by a personal grudge against Gambhir. He made it clear that he was simply stating the facts and accused certain groups of using PR strategies to shield Gambhir from criticism.
“I didn’t say anything bad. This is PR. When someone tells the facts, people defend the individual without knowing the whole story. I am only talking about facts,” said Tiwary.
So far, Gautam Gambhir has not made any public statement in response to Tiwary’s remarks. But the controversy has certainly sparked conversations in cricket circles.
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