As Gautam Gambhir finds himself under fire after a dismal start to his stint as head coach of the Indian side but two 2024 Indian Premier League winners came out strongly in support of the Indian coach. The team's performance has quickly declined since Gambhir took over as head coach in July of last year. After 27 years, the side lost a bilateral ODI series to Sri Lanka to begin Gambhir's tenure. Later, they suffered humiliation at home when New Zealand defeated them 3-0, marking the first time India had been completely thrashed in a home Test series consisting of three or more games. After ten years, Australia won the five-match series 3-1, and India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). For the first time ever, India was unable to go to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Manoj Tiwary calls Gambhir hypocrite
Gautam Gambhir has come under fire from former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary, who described the head coach as a hypocrite who "doesn’t do what he says." Gambhir's choice as head coach was questioned by Tiwary, who said the former opener lacked clarity and a clear coaching style.
"Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite. He doesn’t do what he says. 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," Manoj Tiwary told News18 Bangla.
Additionally, he charged that Gambhir was taking too much credit for the IPL victories of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as captain and coach, attributing them to good public relations rather than personal work.
"Gambhir didn’t guide KKR to the title single-handedly. 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," Tiwary alleged.
Nitish and Harshit Rana come in Gambhir's defence
Nitish Rana, on the other hand, has slammed Tiwari and asserted that Gambhir is the most selfless player he has ever encountered. Rana, a member of the 2024 KKR team that won the IPL championship under the guidance of the Indian head coach, charged Tiwari with displaying his own vulnerabilities.
"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," Nitish wrote on X.
Harshit Rana, who played a significant role in the 2024 IPL-winning KKR team and earned his India debut during the Australia series while being coached by Gambhir, also strongly defended the two-time IPL champion captain.
"Criticising someone due to personal insecurities is not good. Gautibhaiya is someone who thinks more for others than himself. He always backs players when they are down and put them in the limelight when things go our way. He has shown this on multiple occasions. He has a lot of knowledge on how to turn games in your favour," wrote Harshit on Instagram.
Gambhir guided KKR to the 2012 and 2014 victories, making him the third most successful captain in IPL history. From 2011 to 2017, the 2011 World Cup champion led and played for the team. In 2024, he rejoined the Kolkata-based team as a mentor and was given credit for helping them achieve an amazing comeback when they won the championship under Shreyas Iyer's leadership.