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'Gautam Gambhir abused my family, said...': Why 'PR-protected' India head coach was called 'hypocrite', Tiwary reveals
Manoj Tiwary revealed why he termed current India head coach Gautam Gambhir a “hypocrite” and also pointed out his shortcomings as a coach.
Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary go back a long way. From sharing the dressing room for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to having an altercation during the Ranji trophy match in 2015, the duo has seen it all. Gambhir, India's head coach, is currently facing much criticism over the recent poor results in Tests.
Team India lost six out of their last eight Tests to New Zealand and Australia and, as a result, won't be playing in the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the very first time. Manoj Tiwary, a legend of domestic cricket for Bengal, who played 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India, said that the results "speak for themselves" and Gambhir has a lot of learning to do to turn the tide around.
Gambhir's tenure has so far seen India lose the ODI series to Sri Lanka, suffer a whitewash against New Zealand at home, and lose the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a gap of 10 years. The former India opener has seen success in the T20I format, but ODIs and Tests have left a lot to be desired.
"The results are there to be seen. When you lose three series in your short tenure, you have lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and, most importantly, you lost the home series against New Zealand. It was a big loss, as this had never happened before. A lot of things speak for themselves. Losing to New Zealand in a home series is not acceptable at all. In your short career, you also lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka," Tiwary told Hindustan Times.
"Winning and losing are part of the game, but results speak for themselves. You need to look at the reasons behind these losses. You have to understand and make sure those things don't continue. Why hasn't he been able to provide the results which were expected of him? Rahul Dravid passed the baton to him. Rahul Dravid left on a high, but somehow that has not been carried forward, and that is purely due to lack of experience in coaching," he added.
Gambhir earned the India coaching gig after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title win in 2024. The former opening batter has mentored Lucknow Super Giants and KKR in the IPL. However, Tiwary questioned Gambhir's credentials, saying that coaching and mentoring are totally different and cannot be confused with being the same.
"You tell me, before taking up coaching in the Indian team, did he have any coaching experience in first-class cricket or IPL or anywhere in the world? Did he coach any one of the teams? Mentoring and coaching are totally different. That is where everyone mixes up. That is where fans mix up, and a lot of others mix up. Coaching and mentoring are totally opposite. When you don't have experience, how do you expect to perform? That is what is happening right now, and the results are there for everyone to see," said Tiwary.
"It will take time for him because only if he learns from his mistakes and improves himself from the next series, then only positive results will come. We have to eventually see how long he is persisted with as the coach," he added.
Why did Manoj Tiwary call Gambhir a 'hypocrite'?
Tiwary defended himself, calling Gambhir a "hypocrite," citing the latter's old interview in which he had discussed why India should not consider employing foreign coaches. The right-handed batter said that Gambhir's actions don't match his words, as he himself got Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel on board as assistant coaches and bowling coaches, respectively.
"Why did I call him a hypocrite? It is because of one of his interviews if you remember. In one of the interviews, he said, ‘All these foreign coaches, all the guys who come from abroad, have no emotions, they have no feelings. They earn money and enjoy themselves.’ When the time was there for him to select all the Indian coaches and all the Indian-origin support staff, why did he put forward the names of Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel? He got everything he wanted but he is not able to produce the results. Actions don't match his words, so I called him a hypocrite," said Tiwary.
Recently, Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana voiced their support for Gambhir on social media. However, Tiwary believes this to be a "PR game," saying both of them played under Gambhir for KKR, and hence, it is obvious they would be on the side of the man who led KKR to two IPL titles as captain.
Tiwary also questioned Harshit Rana playing the Perth Test against Australia, especially after Akash Deep showed great credentials as a Test bowler in the series against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home.
"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," said Tiwary.
"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 then also spoke about his much-publicised altercation with Gambhir during a Ranji Trophy match in 2015, alleging that the latter abused his family and even said bad things about 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. The process of picking players and selecting them in the playing XI is not happening properly. Akash Deep was dropped in favour 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.
"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.
