Manoj Tiwary, a former Indian cricketer who played alongside Gautam Gambhir for both India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has openly criticized Gambhir's leadership and coaching methods. Tiwary expressed his concerns following India's recent performance under Gambhir's coaching, particularly the loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

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Manoj Tiwary has openly criticized Gautam Gambhir, accusing him of using his public image to make it appear that he was the main reason for the team's victories. Tiwary believes that Gambhir's media presence overshadowed the contributions of other players.

He pointed out that during the 2012 IPL win with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gambhir received all the credit, even though it was a team effort. Tiwary mentioned that players like Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine, and himself also played significant roles in the victory. He feels that Gambhir's portrayal in the media made it seem like he was the only one responsible for the win.

Manoj Tiwari : There is an environment and PR that allows Gambhir to take all the credit 😭 pic.twitter.com/HxuKeOmypW

— Beast (@Beast__07_) January 9, 2025

Tiwary also criticized Gambhir’s performance as the coach of the Indian cricket team. Under Gambhir's leadership, India faced several tough losses, including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and ODI series defeats against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

Tiwary feels that Gambhir's coaching style was not effective, and the appointments of assistant coaches like Abhishek Nayar and Morne Morkel did not help either. According to Tiwary, these coaches were not able to challenge Gambhir’s decisions, which ultimately hurt the team’s performance.

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Tiwary didn’t stop there. He also raised concerns about Gambhir’s relationship with Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain. Tiwary pointed out that Rohit, who has led India to multiple victories, including the World Cup, might face challenges working with Gambhir, whose leadership success was mainly limited to the IPL.

Tiwary also noted that Gambhir seemed to favor players from Mumbai, such as Rohit and Abhishek Nayar, while overlooking players from other regions who performed well but were less vocal about their achievements. One example Tiwary mentioned was Jalaj Saxena, a talented player who, despite his strong performances, was ignored.