Former India batter Manoj Tiwary on Thursday said current national team head coach Gautam Gambhir is “not the right choice” for the top job and he is only adept in mentoring IPL franchises, citing the side’s recent struggles to support his remarks. Under Gambhir, India lost an ODI series in Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, and they hit a new low when they were whitewashed 0-3 by New Zealand at home, unprecedented in the country’s cricket history. Recently, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade, and Tiwary, who has had a dressing room altercation with Gambhir during their playing days in the IPL, took note of these reversals since his appointment as the coach.
“See, the results are there to be seen. Results don’t lie. Numbers don’t lie. The record speaks for itself,” Tiwary told PTI in an interview.
Now a deputy sports minister in the West Bengal government, the 39-year-old Tiwary and Gambhir had an altercation in the KKR dressing room during the 2013 Indian Premier League.
Questioning Gambhir’s coaching methods and his lack of success with the Indian team, Tiwary said, “he has not been able to carry on the good work which Rahul Dravid did.
“It will take a lot of time for him to get on the track, or to winning ways. Because I don’t see any experience behind his coaching the Indian team.
“In Test cricket or in one-day series, I don’t think he has any experience of coaching to be honest.” Since his appointment, India though beat Bangladesh across formats at home after winning a T20I series in Sri Lanka, which was Gambhir’s first assignment with the national team.
But Tiwary believes people with enough experience in coaching, such as VVS Laxman and Sairaj Bahutule, would have been the ideal choice for the India job.
“I think VVS Laxman and Sairaj Bahutule… these guys were in line to be the next head coach. And these guys have been with the NCA for so many years. When Rahul Dravid was not available, the next coach was an automatic choice.
“So, that process was getting followed. And in between how Gambhir came in, nobody knows. So, this result is bound to happen.
“When someone who does not have any experience and he comes up and takes up the job… And knowing him, how aggressive he is as an individual in certain aspects, this result is bound to happen,” Tiwary said.
He added, “So, the decision to appoint him as head coach, by just seeing (IPL) results, was wrong. In my opinion, it was not the right choice.
‘Pandit, others too deserve credit for KKR’s turnaround’
Gambhir was at the helm of affairs when Kolkata Knight Riders won their third IPL title last year and was also credited for reviving the side’s fortunes.
But Tiwary challenged the narrative, saying he was not the only one responsible for the team’s triumph as the franchise also had in its ranks a proven domestic coach in Chandrakant Pandit.
“Gambhir just had experience of mentoring KKR and Lucknow. He had no experience in coaching, that has not been an aspect with him. And when you don’t have experience of coaching, then it becomes difficult for you to perform.” Speaking about Gambhir’s involvement in a triumphant last season for KKR, Tiwary said, “when players like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were not performing well, obviously he gave them confidence. There is no doubt about that.
“But you tell me, what did Chandrakant Pandit do as a coach then? So, you mean to say, all the players and Chandrakant Pandit had no role in KKR’s turnaround.”
‘Ashwin was insulted’
When the discussion turned to R Ashwin’s abrupt retirement from the game in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Tiwary said the whole episode has not been handled well by the team management.
“I see Ashwin was insulted. See players like Washington Sundar and Tanush Kotian… they are all quality spinners and performed well in first-class cricket.
“But when you have a player of Ashwin’s calibre, what is the need for you to bring in Washington in the home series where Ashwin is there, Jadeja is there, and Kuldeep is there, and make him bowl more overs than Ashwin. Is that not an insult to Ashwin? Will he just carry on, after giving so many match-winning performances? He will not come and say that because he is a nice guy.
“But one day he will definitely come out and he will share his experience. This is not the right process. They are also players, and they also need some patting on the back and dignity as well,” Tiwary said.
Tiwary represented India in 12 ODIs and scored an unbeaten hundred and a half-century in the format. He also appeared in three T20 Internationals.
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