“Had I Not Fought With Gautam Gambhir…”: Retired India Star’s Big Revelation

Former Indian cricket team batter Manoj Tiwary opened up about how a fight with then skipper Gautam Gambhir cut short his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Tiwary was an integral part of the side between 2010 and 2013 with the batter scoring the winning boundary when the franchise claimed their first IPL title under Gambhir’s captaincy. However, in an interview with Anandabazar Patrika following his retirement from domestic cricket, Tiwary said that he would have played for KKR for 2-3 more years if the spat with Gambhir did not happen and the added association with the franchise would likely have resulted in more financial gains for the cricketer. 

“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. That gave me a chance to play for the team one more year. Had I not fought with Gambhir in 2013, maybe I would have played for another 2-3 years. That means the amount I was supposed to get as per the contract would have gone up. Bank balance would have strengthened. But I never thought about that.”

Tiwary also revealed his disappointment at how Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) struggled to get their team composition right when he was part of the side between 2008 and 2009. Following a lack of opportunities, he asked the team management headed by coach Gary Kirsten to release him if they could not give him game time and it ended up backfiring as the batter lost his contract with the franchise.

“Gary Kirsten was the coach when I played for Delhi Capitals. I was seeing in front of my eyes in one match after another that the first eleven was not going well. The combination is not correct. Eligible cricketers were not getting a chance to play. Many were out due to injuries. The results of the team were not good. I went straight and said, leave me if you can’t put me in the XI. My contract then was ₹2.8 crore. I never thought that if I said this, they would misunderstand me and leave me. Never thought of my loss.”