“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma wanted to play more, were deliberately suppressed by Gautam Gambhir”
Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary slammed head coach Gautam Gambhir after the team’s 30-run defeat against South Africa in Kolkata.
Tiwary said veteran batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had wanted to continue with Tests but were forced to withdraw from Test cricket due to poor team environment.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli shocked the cricket world by announcing their withdrawal from Tests in May 2025, just before India’s tour of England.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Their sudden decisions sparked speculation. Young batter Shubman Gill has taken over as India’s new Test captain, with Rishabh Pant named vice-captain.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma backed down due to atmosphere – Manoj Tiwary criticizes Gautam Gambhir
Manoj Tiwary has rejected Gautam Gambhir’s claim that India is going through a “transitional phase”. He said Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were forced to retire even though they wanted to continue playing. Tiwary added that the environment created around the team pushed them to come out.
“All this talk about ‘transition phase’ – I don’t agree with that. India doesn’t need transition. New Zealand or Zimbabwe need transition. Our domestic cricket is full of talented performers waiting for opportunities,” Tiwary told India Today.
“Due to this unnecessary transition, our star players, like Virat and Rohit, who wanted to continue playing Test cricket and protect its sanctity, slowly backed away due to the atmosphere created around them,” he added.
You can’t blame players’ technique after losing – Manoj Tiwary on Gautam Gambhir
Manoj Tiwary slammed Gautam Gambhir for pointing fingers at players after the defeat in Kolkata. Tiwary said he should focus on guiding the team rather than questioning their technique. He added that Gambhir should have used his experience to help the team.
“You can’t blame the players’ technique after a defeat. As a coach, your job is to teach, not to blame. If the batters didn’t have strong defense, why weren’t they trained before the match? When he was playing, Gambhir himself was a good spin player, so he should teach more. The results are not in India’s favor,” he added.
India under intense pressure ahead of second Test in Guwahati
India will enter the second Test in Guwahati under heavy pressure after the defeat in Kolkata. They need a win to avoid a series loss at home. With the ranking turner at Eden Gardens proving costly, attention has now turned to which surface they will choose for the decider.
The defeat pushed India to fourth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings, while South Africa climbed to second place after winning the first match of the series.
Many said India miscalculated in demanding a dry, turning track, which ended up helping the visiting spinners. Notably, the Men in Blue suffered a 0-3 defeat to New Zealand on turning tracks last year.
Gautam Gambhir defended his team by pointing out that the team is still young and is going through major changes. Senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R. Ashwin opted out of the format soon after the phasing out of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane.
Also Read: Gautam Gambhir’s Amazing Exchange With Eden Gardens Curator Goes Viral After Pitch Controversy
