Manoj Tiwary accuses Gautam Gambhir of favoritism, labels Nitish Rana, Harshit Rana as ‘PR agents’
Manoj Tiwary has openly criticized Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana for playing “PR” games for Gautam Gambhir following their outcry on social media following his fiery outburst on the head coach of the Indian cricket team. The former Indian cricketer made some controversial remarks about Gambhir after Team India’s debacle in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
The rivalry between Manoj Tiwary and Gautam Gambhir recently took an explosive turn, reigniting tensions dating back to a firefight during a 2015 Ranji Trophy match between Bengal and Delhi. Despite once sharing the Kolkata Knight Riders’ dressing room in the IPL, they have remained at loggerheads, with Tiwary now questioning his place as India’s head coach.
Manoj Tiwary accuses Gautam Gambhir of bias and hypocrisy
Recently, Manoj Tiwary did not hold back, criticizing Gambhir for his lack of coaching experience and suggesting power players like VVS Laxman and Sairaj Bahutula would be better suited for the role. Adding fuel to the fire, Tiwary branded Gambhir a hypocrite for selecting foreign coaches Morne Morkel and Ryan ten Doeschate as his staff, despite previously criticizing the involvement of foreign coaches in Indian cricket.
The former India batsman also targeted Gambhir for taking all the credit for KKR’s success in the IPL, crediting the likes of Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine and himself for the franchise’s success in the IPL. Tiwary accused Gambhir of taking advantage of the favorable environment and PR machinery to gain limelight, overshadowing the contributions of the entire team.
These comments did not go down well with Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana—both played under Gambhir at KKR, and the duo slammed the Bengal MP for his unwarranted criticism of the Indian head coach. They called Gambhir a selfless and capable coach, saying Tiwary’s remarks reflected his ‘personal insecurities’.
Manoj Tiwary accuses Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana of supporting Gautam Gambhir for favoritism
Now, reacting to Ranas’ attack on social media, Tiwary said that Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana are just doing PR for Gambhir, as he favored them during their time at KKR. He also accused Gambhir of favouritism, stating that Harshit supported him only because he showed bias in team selection during India’s Test series against Australia.
Manoj Tiwary was quoted in Hindustan Times as saying, “Why wouldn’t Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana, for example, support Gautam Gambhir? Harshit Rana played in Perth in place of Akash Deep. How is that possible? 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 you dropped him and went in with Harshit, who doesn’t have that much first-class experience.”
Also Read: Manoj Tiwary attacks Gautam Gambhir, uses Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as weapons
PR is quite evident: Manoj Tiwary
Tiwary signed off saying, “Akash Deep has an amazing track record. It’s a completely biased selection. That’s why the players will come out and defend him. I didn’t say anything bad. This is the PR I’m talking about. That never happened. When something or someone tells the facts, people come to the individual’s defense, but they don’t know me. I’m just talking about the facts. PR is quite evident.”
