Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has criticised Gautam Gambhir, claiming that the head coach has fostered an atmosphere that drives senior players out of the team. He made the comment in reference to recent retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Both Rohit and Kohli announced their Test retirements in May 2025, weeks before the England tour, while Ashwin said goodbye to international cricket halfway through India's previous tour of Australia.
According to Tiwary, who spoke to InsideSport, Gambhir pushed the senior players into early retirements in order to shield himself from their strong influence and criticism of his choices.
"If the senior players are there, if Ashwin is there, if Rohit is there or if Virat is there, then these guys have played so much cricket, these guys are established much more than the head coach or the other staff, these guys will raise questions if they don't agree to a point. You just made sure that these guys are not there, basically," said Tiwary.
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"I have observed that since this coach took on the role, a lot of controversies have arisen. Many things that are happening are not good for Indian cricket. I believe that since the time he has been the head coach, Ashwin has taken a retirement. Rohit and Virat have also done so. Other things have happened, such as players being unexpectedly added to the squad and then being straight into the starting XI. We have seen that Gambhir has not been consistent," he added.
Tiwary also emphasised on Virat and Rohit's contributions to Indian cricket.
"I believe the circumstances that have been created, the atmosphere that has been created, the pressure that is there on these players, I believe Rohit and Virat have been outstanding servants of Indian cricket. They have taken Indian cricket to new heights. The players who give their heart and soul, we have seen they have given their everything," said Tiwary.
The 39-year-old added that Gambhir's failure to include Rohit and Virat in the 2027 World Cup plan would be a "really poor decision".
"If these players feel that things are affecting their image and they are no longer wanted in the dressing room, then they might consider retiring. I believe they want to play. I think Gambhir won't take this big a call of not having these two individuals because, in the white-ball format, no one can deny the fact that these two have been outstanding. It would be a really poor decision if Gautam doesn't include these two in the scheme of things for the World Cup," he added.
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