India head coach Gautam Gambhir has come under the scanner after the team’s poor show in the recently held Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
Gambhir was named India’s head coach after Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended with the T20 World Cup triumph in June 2024. The southpaw was appointed with a lot of expectations as he mentored KKR to the IPL title last year.
His stint with the Men in Blue began on a bitter-sweet note as India won the T20I series 3-0 and lost the ODIs 0-2 on the tour of Sri Lanka. Subsequently, India suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat in the home Test series against New Zealand under his guidance.
The recent 1-3 drubbing at the hands of Australia is drawing him a lot of flak. Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary has also joined the bandwagon, calling Gambhir a hypocrite while also adding that his PR allows him to take ‘all the credit’ for his success.
Meanwhile, former Kolkata Knight Riders batter Nitish Rana has hit back at Tiwary for his criticism of the Indian coach.
Notably, Tiwary played a few seasons at KKR under Gambhir’s captaincy. On the other hand, Rana considers Gambhir as his mentor and won IPL 2024 with him.
Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Rana said Tiwary’s comments on Gambhir were a reflection of his ‘insecurities’.
“Criticism should be based on facts not personal insecurities. Gauti bhaiyya is one of the most selfless players I’ve ever met. He shoulders responsibility in times of distress like no other. Performance doesn’t need any PR. The trophies speak for themselves," Nitish tweeted.
KKR pacer Harshit Rana also responded to Tiwary’s comments in strongly worded statements on Instagram.
"Criticising someone due to personal insecurities is not good. Gauti bhaiya (brother) is someone who thinks more for others than himself. He always backs players when they are down and puts them in the limelight when things go our way. He has shown this on multiple occasions. He has a lot of knowledge on how to turn games in your favour," Harshit shared on his Instagram story.
Speaking to News18 Bangla, Manoj Tiwary was highly critical of Gautam Gambhir, questioning the appointments of bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar as well.
“Gambhir didn’t guide KKR to the title single-handedly as we all performed as a unit. Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine and I, all contributed to the cause. But who took the credit? There is an environment and PR that allows him to take all the credit," Tiwary said.
“Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite. He doesn’t do what he says. The captain (Rohit) is from Mumbai, Abhishek Nayar is from Mumbai. Rohit has been pushed to the forefront. There is no one to speak for Jalaj Saxena. He performs well but keeps quiet.
“What is the use of a bowling coach? Whatever the coach says, he will agree. Morne Morkel came from Lucknow Super Giants. Abhishek Nayar was at Kolkata Knight Riders with Gambhir and the Indian head coach knows that he will not go against his instructions," he added.
India have lost six of the 10 Tests since Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid as head coach. His next big challenge is the 2025 Champions Trophy, slated to be in Pakistan and UAE from February 19 to March 9.
