India’s glorious fort on home turf has once again collapsed and this time the storm over head coach Gautam Gambhir is stronger than ever. For years, teams from SENA countries had to struggle heavily in India. Now, the same sides are going ahead and winning without breaking a sweat.
Their brutal 0-2 whitewash in the latest home Test series against South Africa is India’s second home Test whitewash in just 13 months. Both came during the tenure of Gautam Gambhir.
The figures are also not good. Under Gautam Gambhir, India have lost five of their last seven home Tests; This was almost unimaginable a few years ago.
Manoj Tiwari criticizes Gautam Gambhir after India’s 0-2 whitewash
The 408-run defeat in the second and final Test in Guwahati made the situation even worse. Although Gambhir defended himself by pointing to the ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup wins and the drawn Test series in England, many believed this was not enough to cover up the growing rift in Tests.
Also read: Mohammad Kaif embarrasses Shubman Gill with ‘no proper captain’ decision, claims UP can beat West Indies
Adding fuel to the already raging fire, former Indian cricketer turned politician Manoj Tiwari gave his strongest statement yet. He believes that now is the time for the BCCI to rethink who should guide India’s Test team.
He attributed the Indian team’s defeat during Gautam Gambhir’s tenure in Test cricket to frequent selection changes, confused planning and lack of a stable process.
Manoj Tiwari has demanded a new test coach for India
Hindustan Times quoted Manoj Tiwari as saying, “To be honest, the handwriting was on the wall. It was bound to happen. I knew things were not going well; the process they wanted to follow was not the right strategy or plan. There were a lot of cuts and changes, that was very obvious. It could have been the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the home series against New Zealand and now against South Africa.”
Tiwary also demanded a separate coach for Test cricket, saying this was the only way to save India’s declining red-ball standards. He further said, “Absolutely. There is no question about it (should India have a separate red-ball coach). Now is the time for them to take this decision to save Indian Test cricket. That is the final thing.”
Also read: Pat Cummins’ return for day-night Test at Gabba gives huge boost to Australia
The cricket pundit also questioned whether the draw in England was really an achievement, stating that India had the stronger team, but were saved only because England lost on the final day rather than achieving a clear win.
Manoj Tiwary claims Gautam Gambhir has ‘no major achievements’ as India coach
“There is no major achievement so far in his tenure,” Tiwari said. He argued that the ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup successes cannot be attributed to Gambhir alone, adding that it was the result of the hard work of Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli.
The Bengal minister further said, “I saw a clip of him (Gautam Gambhir) in which he was claiming that they have won the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup. This team was built by Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and before them Virat Kohli. Even if Gambhir had not been the coach of Team India for these two tournaments, India would have won because the team had already been formed.”
Tiwari expressed concern that Gambhir’s limited experience in red-ball coaching may not be enough at the highest level. He signed off by saying, “It is very unfortunate to see a white-ball mentor leading India as a head coach. If you don’t have experience at the grassroots level, how do you expect to deliver results at the top level? It is almost impossible.”
