Gautam Gambhir's dark side exposed as Manoj Tiwary alleges abuse and threat
Published - 24 Jan 2025, 01:10 PM | Updated - 24 Jan 2025, 01:20 PM
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Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary’s tense relationship has once again come under the spotlight. Recently, Tiwary reflected on his heated argument with Gambhir during a Ranji Trophy match in 2015 and their days at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The former Indian batter-turned-politician revealed details about the fight over batting position with the current Indian head coach, and at that time, the Pakistan legend Wasim Akram had to step in to defuse the situation during their IPL days.
Manoj Tiwary opens up about his fiery arguments with Gautam Gambhir
Manoj Tiwary revealed that he had a heated argument with Gautam Gambhir about his batting position at Eden Gardens, and it led him to face the threat of losing a place in KKR’s playing XI from the then captain.
The Bengal MP further revealed that Wasim Akram had to intervene and calm down the situation, as the situation had escalated to that level where a physical fight could have happened between them.
Tiwary alleged that former Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Akram was well aware of what Gambhir was trying to do, and even the Pakistani legend suggested the former skipper to behave like a captain, as he knew about the Bengal cricketer’s potential, but the latter couldn’t digest that fact.
Gautam Gambhir can't see anyone else getting praise: Manoj Tiwari
Manoj Tiwary was quoted as saying to Lallantop, “When a new player emerges, he is given space in the newspaper; maybe that is one of the reasons why he got angry with me. If I had had a PR team, I could have been the India captain today.”
Reflecting on a heated argument during a Ranji Trophy match in 2015, Tiwary shared how Gambhir's behavior often left him confused and hurt. He claimed that they initially had a good rapport at Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010, but things turned sour after Gambhir began targeting him with “very hurtful words” and sudden outbursts without any reason.
He believes that his consistent performances as a local boy at KKR and the media’s growing attention towards him as he was the promising player were the main reasons behind Gautam Gambhir’s behavior, as he couldn’t bear how he could get such limelight.
Well, the tension reached a boiling point during a Ranji Trophy clash back in 2015 when Gautam Gambhir’s abusive remarks from the slip cordon led to an intense verbal spat on the field with the former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary.
He was abusing from slips: Manoj Tiwary recalls 2015 Ranji Trophy clash
Manoj Tiwary further recalled: “He was angry at me, as he felt I was wasting time. He was abusing from slips. Nobody should use such words. Ha, Ma-behen ki gaali. Then he said, ‘Shaam ko mil, main tujhe maarta hu‘. (Meet me in the evening; I am going to thrash you.”
He continued, “I said, ‘Shaam ko kiu abhi maarlo (Why evening? let’s fight now)’. I was also strong. Sourav Ganguly was part of the cricket administration then, and Gambhir said, ‘He used his jack to enter there, and you have come behind him’.”
In the end, Tiwary accused Gambhir of constantly demoting him in the KKR batting order, and the reason was that he scored more runs than him in the friendly matches against Australia.
He signed off by saying, “Even then, he lost his cool. I was applying sunscreen when he came to me and shouted, ‘What are you doing here? Everybody else is on the ground’. Out of nowhere.”
