Ex-Teammate Shockingly Calls Out Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Fragile Ego’ For Removing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Gautam Gambhir has been facing backlash following the Indian team gradually phasing out Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Ex-Teammate Shockingly Calls Out Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Fragile Ego’ For Removing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Manoj Tiwary (via India TV News) Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (via NDTV Sports)

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The fans of Indian cricket have not been too impressed lately with the latest updates regarding the cricket team. The return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli into the ODI squad for the Australian series was supposed to have created excitement, but a major change that came with it has shrouded the energy with gloom.

Rohit Sharma was sacked from captaincy rather surprisingly and Shubman Gill replaced him in the ODI format. As a result of this, there is an air of animosity against head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar that is brewing in the country.

A former teammate of Gambhir also gave his two cents on the topic stating how he feels about the fact that the current head coach has brought rather too many controversies. Manoj Tiwary was a teammate of Gautam Gambhir in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders and in the Indian team as well, gave his thoughts in an interview with InsideSport.

There are some people who just avoid and neglect the opinions of others in a team meeting. In a team that has Ashwin, Rohit or Virat, these players have played much more cricket and established themselves greater than the head coach, so they will have raised questions if they don’t agree to a point. One thing that I have observed is that since the time this Indian coach has stepped into the role, a lot of controversies are taking place. Things that are happening are not good for cricket. Since the time he has come, Ashwin has taken retirement. Things with Rohit and Virat, players out of the blue are making it into the playing XI even without much consistency.

Manoj Tiwary said via InsideSport

Tiwary and Gambhir have had a major feud in the past and the pair don’t get along well at all. The former, although without taking Gambhir’s name, gave his strong opinion on the entire matter that is going on around Indian cricket. Clearly Tiwary doesn’t approve of the regimes implemented in Indian cricket and has boldly stated that.

A look at the curious case of Harshit Rana and Gautam Gambhir

One of the big accusations that the Gautam Gambhir-led management is facing is the inclusion of pacer Harshit Rana in all three formats of the game. Even Tiwary referred to it by saying that without much consistency a player is playing all three formats.

It was quite evident that he was referring to Rana who hasn’t really shined in the big stage but is named in all three formats of Indian cricket. Rana is one of the only three Indian players currently, who are all format players. The other two being, captain Shubman Gill and ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

Funny enough, a year back Rana hadn’t even made his India debut. The pacer first got recognition in IPL 2024 for his high pace and hostile bowling for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Gambhir back then was the mentor of the franchise.

Manoj Tiwary not very happy with the selection of Harshit Rana.
Gautam Gambhir and Harshit Rana (via News18), Manoj Tiwary (via India TV News)

Then, Gambhir became coach of the national team and the first appearance of Rana in international cricket took place in Test cricket during the Australia tour. Rana’s outing in the series was not as promising as he could only pick up 4 wickets in 2 matches.

Post that Rana was fast tracked into the white ball teams as he made his debut in both ODI and T20I teams during the home England series. Once again, the pacer’s numbers were not that great with hardly any wickets under his belt.

More importantly he was leaking a lot of runs. In the recent Asia Cup, he was benched for most of the matches and got his opportunity only in games that didn’t hold much context. Over there too Rana’s returns were not promising as he leaked 79 runs in the two matches against Oman and Sri Lanka, picking only 2 wickets.

His only good performance so far, came against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy when he picked 3-31. Despite such average returns, Rana has been named in both white ball squads for the Australian Tour.

It might be too early to judge but if Rana doesn’t get a few good performances under his belt in the upcoming tour, he might not be able to hold his position for a long time. Coach Gambhir has shown great belief and would want the pacer to repay the faith.

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