January 9, 2025 – Manoj Tiwary, the former India cricketer, has courted controversy by expressing his open disapproval of the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. Tiwary, who has had a falling out with Gambhir in the past, had raised concerns that Gambhir lacks experience and doubted his ability to lead the side after India’s recent poor shows.
Tiwary Questions Gambhir’s Coaching Credentials
Manoj Tiwary expressed his disappointment over Gambhir’s appointment while speaking to PTI. He mentioned the recent series of failures under Gambhir’s coaching, such as losing in Sri Lanka, getting whitewashed by New Zealand, and losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia. According to Tiwary, all these results did not speak well for Gambhir as a coach for the national team.
Tiwary said, “Results don’t lie. The record speaks for itself.” He emphasized that Gambhir has no prior experience in coaching at the international level, particularly in Test or One-Day cricket, which, according to Tiwary, makes him unsuitable for the job.
Tiwary Highlights the Lack of Experience
He added that Gambhir’s experience was limited to the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he mentored Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants. Tiwary questioned the logic of appointing someone with no experience as a coach for such a prestigious national team as India.
He has not been able to carry on the good work which Rahul Dravid did,” said Tiwary, referring to the former coach’s successful tenure. Tiwary also added that veteran players like VVS Laxman and Sairaj Bahutule, both of whom have been involved with the National Cricket Academy (NCA), were better-suited candidates for the role.
Gambhir’s Success in IPL and Tiwary’s Disagreements
While Gambhir had a great stint with KKR, under whom they had won the title of IPL in 2024, Tiwary maintained that Gambhir was not the sole reason behind his success in IPL. According to him, the turnaround of KKR was all due to the contribution of Chandrakant Pandit, a domestic coach, rather than Gambhir’s mentoring.
“Chandrakant Pandit played a significant role as a coach,” Tiwary noted, highlighting the collaborative effort behind KKR’s title win. Tiwary suggested that Gambhir’s lack of true coaching experience was a key factor in the team’s inability to replicate IPL success with the Indian national side.
Ashwin’s Treatment by the Indian Team
Tiwary also expressed his disappointment over the way the team management handled veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He was referring to Ashwin’s reduced role in the Border-Gavaskar series, saying that Ashwin was treated unfairly by being overshadowed by younger bowlers like Washington Sundar.
Tiwary said, “It was an insult to Ashwin,” and emphasized that players of Ashwin’s stature deserve much better recognition and respect. He believed that Ashwin, who has given the team match-winning performances over the years, should have been given more opportunities, especially in key series.
Tiwary criticized the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as head coach of India, stating that his lack of experience and setbacks recently under him make him not a good fit for the role. Tiwary said that a national team would require experienced coaches to lead with stakes as high as they have in international cricket.
Tiwary, who has played 12 ODIs and three T20 Internationals for India, said that the Indian cricket team needs a leader who can give consistent results and treat senior players like Ashwin with respect.
The debate over Gambhir’s coaching tenure is unlikely to end anytime soon, as Tiwary’s comments have raised some important questions about leadership and team management in Indian cricket.
