Gautam Gambhir's tenure as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team has been far from ideal. It started with a series loss against Sri Lanka in the 50-over format, following which the team endured a humiliating 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand in Tests at home. The unit has now hit another setback in Australia, conceding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.
India were defeated 3-1 by Australia, which also saw them bow out of contention for the World Test Championship (WTC) finals. All the results have put Gambhir's credentials as a coach under the radar and many have taken potshots at the 2007 and 2011 World Cup winner.
The latest to join the list is former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary, who also shared the dressing room with Gambhir at Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Tiwary during an interview with News18 Bangla didn't mince his words and called Gambhir a "hypocrite" for hogging all limelight during his stint with KKR.
Under Gambhir's captaincy KKR won the IPL title twice in 2012 and 2014 and he once again returned as a mentor to guide the franchise to another glory in the cash-rich T20 league, which was in 2024.
“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."
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Shifting focus to Gambhir's current stint as India's head coach, the cricketer-turned-politician added: “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 said.
Nitish Rana comes out in support of Gautam Gambhir
Meanwhile, Nitish Rana, who was part of KKR during the 2024 season, has hit back at Tiwary and backed Gambhir for taking the responsibility at the time of crisis. Rana shared his thoughts on X and wrote: “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."
Gautam Gambhir's next assignment
Gambhir's next assignment will be the upcoming white-ball series against England, which features five T20Is and three ODIs. Following this he will be traveling with the unit to UAE for the ICC Champions Trophy, where India meet Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the group stage.
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