Manoj Tiwary directly blames head coach Gautam Gambhir behind retirements of Ravi Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Manoj Tiwary said that a lot of controversies have arisen since Gautam Gambhir became India coach.

Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary has alleged that the Indian Cricket Team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir is responsible for Ravi Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli taking retirement from test cricket. Tiwary alleged that Gambhir got rid of these senior players so that no one could raise questions against him.

Former Indian spinner Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket in December 2024. Rohit and Virat announced their retirement from test cricket in May 2025, giving a big surprise to the Indian fans fans.

After retiring from T20I and test cricket, Rohit and Virat are only active in ODI cricket and will be part of the Australia tour for the three-match ODI series. Ahead of the tour, Rohit was replaced by Shubman Gill as captain of the ODI side as well.

You just made sure that these guys are not there, basically: Manoj Tiwary

While speaking to Inside Sport, Manoj Tiwary said that head coach Gautam Gambhir is responsible for the retirements of Rohit, Kohli, and Ashwin. He also added that a lot of controversies have arisen since Gambhir took over as India’s head coach.

“If the senior players are there, if Ashwin is there, if Rohit is there then these guys have played so much cricket, these guys are established much more than the head coach or the other staff, these guys will raise questions if they don’t agree to a point. You just made sure that these guys are not there, basically,” he said.

“I have observed that since this coach took on the role, a lot of controversies have arisen. Many things that are happening are not good for Indian cricket. I believe that since the time he has been the head coach, Ashwin has taken a retirement,” he added.

“Rohit and Virat have also done so. Other things have happened, such as players being unexpectedly added to the squad and then being straight into the starting XI. We have seen that Gambhir has not been consistent,” he further added.

Tiwary also feels that it will be a poor decision if Gambhir does not consider Rohit and Kohli for ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.

“If these players feel that things are affecting their image and they are no longer wanted in the dressing room, then they might consider retiring. I believe they want to play,” he said.

“I think Gambhir won’t take this big a call of not having these two individuals because, in the white-ball format, no one can deny the fact that these two have been outstanding. It would be a really poor decision if Gautam doesn’t include these two in the scheme of things for the World Cup,” he added.

Meanwhile, the ODI series against Australia will begin on October 19 with the opening game in Perth. Rohit and Kohli will return to the national team after a long gap. They last played for India during ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in March.

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