Manoj Tiwary, a former Indian cricket player, emphasized that head coach Gambhir had not adequately mentored skipper Rohit during his selection process.
Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwari criticized India’s selection and the team’s seeming lack of common sense in some of its selections after they fell to 46 all out in the opening Test match against New Zealand. Tiwary blasted coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma, calling their choice to bat despite a whole day being ruined by rain an odd one. Additionally, he criticized Gambhir for failing to mentor Rohit Sharma throughout the selection process.
What the coach or captain is trying to prove is beyond my understanding,” Tiwary said, speaking on the Cricbuzz YouTube channel.
“I feel like, whenever there is a new coach or new captain, they try to prove something and take such decisions,” said Tiwary.
Tiwary pointed out that Rohit had even admitted to misreading the pitch. He stated that three pacers should’ve played while Ashwin should’ve bowled more. He also said Rohit should’ve been better guided by coach Gautam Gambhir.
“I knew that one of the spinners would be under-bowled, but I never imagined it would be Ashwin. He has over 500 Test wickets. When defending 107, why didn’t you bring him in the attack alongside Jasprit Bumrah?” Tiwary continued.
“Good captains also make mistakes because many things go through your mind. Here, the coach’s role to give constant guidance is very important, but I don’t know why that did not happen,” he added.
Tiwary also said that pacer Akash Deep’s confidence may have been affected after he was dropped from the XI.
“Akash Deep’s confidence must’ve suffered a big blow when he found out he wasn’t part of the playing XI against Bangladesh,” said Tiwary,
“He was outstanding in the Bangladesh series, and his confidence would’ve been sky-high. Having seen the conditions on Day 1, he would’ve been shocked to find out he’d been dropped from the team,” Tiwary added.
India has two more Tests remaining in the series against New Zealand to make a comeback.
