Former India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter, Manoj Tiwary, has launched a scathing criticism of current senior national team head coach Gautam Gambhir. Tiwary and Gambhir have shared a past as teammates, not only in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but also for the Delhi state team. As Gambhir faces mounting criticism over his handling of the Indian cricket team, particularly following recent Test defeats to Australia and New Zealand, Tiwary has labelled him a ‘hypocrite’, accusing him of not practising what he preaches.
Tiwary’s comments come after Gambhir has been scrutinised for his team management, with Tiwary describing the situation as a case of poor decision-making. However, the criticism sparked a defence from India pacer Harshit Rana, who made his Test debut during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Rana’s support of Gambhir did not surprise Tiwary, who pointed out potential biases in the selection process.
“Why wouldn’t Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana, for example, support Gautam Gambhir? Harshit Rana played in Perth in place of Akash Deep. How was that possible? What did Akash Deep do wrong? He bowled fantastic spells against Bangladesh and New Zealand. As a fast bowler, you dream about bowling in friendly conditions, but you dropped him and went in with Harshit, who doesn’t have that much first-class experience. Akash Deep has fabulous records. That is a completely biased selection. That is why players will come out and defend him,” Tiwary said in a conversation with a section of media.
Tiwary continued, stating that his remarks were based on facts, and he believed the defence of Gambhir was motivated by public relations (PR) rather than merit. “I have said nothing wrong. This is PR which I am talking about. That never used to happen. When something or someone speaks the facts, people come up defending the individual, but they don’t know me. I only speak on facts. PR is quite evident,” he added.
The former cricketer also dredged up past tensions with Gambhir, recounting an incident during a Ranji Trophy match in Delhi where Gambhir allegedly abused his family and made derogatory comments about former India captain Sourav Ganguly. “When he fought with me during the Ranji Trophy match in Delhi, everyone heard every word from Gautam Gambhir’s mouth. Whether he was talking bad about Sourav Ganguly or whether he was abusing my family, he was protected by a few of the individuals. This is the PR I am talking about,” said Tiwary.
Tiwary also raised concerns about the selection process, particularly in the case of Akash Deep and Harshit Rana, questioning why players like Harshit Rana and Devdutt Padikkal were chosen over more established First-Class performers.
“How was Devdutt Padikkal included in the Test squad, he was out of the equation? How did he come into the mix when Abhimanyu Easwaran was there, scoring so many runs non-stop? He has scored so many runs. Why wasn’t he selected and not played at No.3? These are the kinds of things happening, and the results are there for everyone to see,” Tiwary concluded.
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