Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli pushed out of Test cricket? Former India star hits out at Gautam Gambhir
The former star batter of the Indian cricket team, Manoj Tiwary, has blasted on the head coach Gautam Gambhir for both veterans, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, getting pushed out of the longest formats.
The former Indian star member, Manoj Tiwary, has launched a scathing attack on the current management of the Blue Brigade as he described that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were effectively pushed out to end their Test careers. Both retired from the five-day format in between two weeks during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Rohit and Kohli announced their red-ball retirements in May 2024, just a few weeks before the England trip, as it pushed the management to announce young Shubman Gill as the new leader, under whom the tourists drew the five-match Test series in the United Kingdom by a margin of 2-2.
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“This whole ‘transition phase’ talk—I don’t agree with it. India doesn’t need a transition. New Zealand or Zimbabwe needs a transition. Our domestic cricket is full of talented performers waiting for chances. Because of this unnecessary transition, our star players—like Virat and Rohit—who wanted to keep playing Test cricket and protect its sanctity, slowly stepped back because of the atmosphere created around them.” Tiwary expressed in an interaction on India Today.
Manoj Tiwary blasts Gautam Gambhir post India’s 30-run loss to South Africa
Tiwary also criticized the head coach of the Indian side, Gautam Gambhir, for the latter’s comments after the batting collapse of the home side during the recent Kolkata Test, where they were bundled out for 93 runs in the fourth innings in the chase of 124 runs.
“You cannot blame players’ technique after losing. As a coach, your job is to teach, not to blame. If the batters didn’t have solid defense, why weren’t they trained before the match? When he played, Gambhir himself was a good player of spin, so he should teach more. The results aren’t in India’s favour.” Tiwary shed light in the same discussion.
India’s defeat at the Eden Gardens was their fourth home Test defeat in the last six encounters. If they lost their next game at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, then the Blue Brigade would lose their second home Test series in three attempts. The pressure and focus are on the Indian side.
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