Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana on Thursday strongly defended Gautam Gambhir after former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary called the India head coach a “hypocrite” and accused him of failing to “walk the talk” considering Team India’s recent debacle in Australia.
Harshit Rana & Nitish Rana slams Manoj Tiwari
In an Instagram story, Harshit Rana slammed and outrightly dismissed Tiwary’s comments (without naming him) as stemming from “personal insecurities.” He praised Gambhir’s qualities as a coach, stating: “Criticizing someone due to personal insecurities is not good. Gauri Bhaiya is someone who thinks more for others than himself.
He always backs players when they are down and puts 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 favor.”
Image: Harshit Rana/Instagram
Also, Nitish Rana praised Gautam Gambhir, calling him the most selfless player he has ever met. Rana, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad that won the IPL 2024 title under Gambhir’s mentorship, expressed his admiration for the former KKR captain.
In a post on X Nitish Rana said, “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.”
Manoj Tiwary Criticises Gautam Gambhir
Speaking to News18 Bangla, Tiwary launched a scathing attack on Gambhir, calling him a “hypocrite” and accusing him of favoritism. He said:
“Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite.
He doesn’t do what he says. Where is the captain (Rohit Sharma) from? Mumbai. Where is Abhishek Nayar from? Mumbai. They got a chance to put a Mumbai player in the forefront. There is no one to speak for Jalaj Saxena. He performs well but keeps quiet.”
Tiwary further claimed that Gambhir relies on a “comfort zone” by selecting familiar faces like Abhishek Nayar and Morne Morkel, who share past affiliations with him. He also downplayed Gambhir’s captaincy contributions to Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) IPL success, stating that the team won titles as a unit and not because of Gambhir alone:
“Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla, and I performed with the bat, while Sunil Narine bowled exceptionally well. That is why we won the IPL title. But there’s a PR narrative that allows him to take all the credit.”
Manoj Tiwari Slams KKR
Manoj Tiwary represented the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for four seasons from 2010 to 2013, during which he scored an impressive 1,002 runs. Reflecting on his time with KKR, Tiwary shared an incident where he had a heated argument with Gautam Gambhir, the team’s captain when team won the title in 2012.
He said ‘“During my stint with KKR, I had a big fight with Gambhir in the dressing room. That never came to light. KKR became the champion in 2012. At that time, I managed to hit the boundary and the team won.
Adding to that he also criticized KKR’s owners for not promoting local talent and urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to address this issue with Shahrukh Khan.
India’s Performance Under Gambhir’s Coaching
Since Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach from Rahul Dravid, India’s performance has been under scrutiny. While the team has won two T20I series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, they have lost key series, including the ODI series against Sri Lanka, test series against New Zealand (3-0), and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (3-1). These results have raised questions about Gambhir’s tactics and effectiveness as a coach.
