Former cricketer Manoj Tiwary continued his tirade against his former India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir, who is the head coach of the Indian team, was accused of favoritism after Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana came in support of him.

The players only gave him back after Gambhir chose Rana over Aakash Deep in India's Test match against Australia, according to Tiwary, who accused Gambhir of "bias" and favoritism.

In an interview with News18 Bangla on Thursday, Tiwary scolded Gambhir for his poor start as India's head coach, which included three victories in ten Test matches.

Hours after it was made public, Nitish and Harshit posted similar sentiments on social media, describing Gambhir as a capable and devoted coach and implying that Tiwary's comments were a reflection of his "personal insecurities."

“Why wouldn’t Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana, for example, not 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 told Hindustan Times.

“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.

Tiwary, who played under Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and even helped the team win the 2012 Indian Premier League, claimed that Gambhir has long been "protected by a few individuals."

“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. The process of picking players and selecting them in the playing XI is not happening properly. Akash Deep was dropped in favor of Harshit Rana. If you thought Harshit was so good, why didn’t you continue with him for the rest of the series? Akash Deep doesn’t have a voice," said Tiwary.

Tiwary further questioned how Devdutt Padikkal was included in the India Test squad for Australia when he was not in contention. He also said how Padikkal was chosen over Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been waiting for his chance.

“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," he added.

Both Nitish and Harshit have played under Gambhir’s mentorship at KKR and have previously credited him for their success.