Former India batter Manoj Tiwary accused head coach Gautam Gambhir of influencing the retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
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Manoj Tiwary Criticizes Gautam Gambhir Over Team Culture
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary openly criticized head coach Gautam Gambhir, blaming him for disrupting the team culture and creating controversies since taking charge. The recent replacement of Rohit Sharma by Shubman Gill as ODI captain has sparked widespread debate on social media, with fans questioning whether Rohit and Virat Kohli will feature in India’s squad for the 2027 World Cup.
Rohit and Virat, collectively called RoKo, are playing their first international matches since the 2025 Champions Trophy, following their earlier announcement of Test retirement after a disappointing Australia tour. The retirements of senior players, including Ravichandran Ashwin midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, have led to accusations that Gambhir may have influenced these decisions, as Tiwary claims the coach does not tolerate his ideas being questioned.
“If the senior players are there, if Ashwin is there, if Rohit is there, these guys have played so much cricket, they are established much more than the head coach or other staff, and they will raise questions if they disagree. You just made sure these guys are not there, basically,” Tiwary told InsideSport.
“I have observed that since this coach took on the role, a lot of controversies have arisen. Many things happening are not good for Indian cricket. Since he became head coach, Ashwin retired, Rohit and Virat have also retired. Other things, such as players being unexpectedly added to the squad and straight into the starting XI, have happened. We have seen that Gambhir has not been consistent,” he added.
‘Gautam Gambhir won’t drop Rohit and Kohli’
Manoj Tiwary, who shares a long history with Gautam Gambhir, offered a nuanced view, suggesting that the current head coach would likely not drop Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from India’s ODI plans given their exceptional records in the format.
He added, “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 Gautam Gambhir won’t take this big a call of not having these two individuals because, in the white-ball format, no one can deny 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.”
Reports suggest that the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia could be Rohit and Kohli’s swansong, though no official announcements have been made. Earlier, Dainik Jagran reported that RoKo may be asked to participate in the Vijay Hazare Trophy if they intend to keep their hopes alive for the 2027 ODI World Cup.