Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has slammed the Indian team management for mishandling Ravichandran Ashwin in Australia. In an interview with the Press Trust of India, the former Bengal captain alleged that Ashwin was insulted, which led to his retirement from international cricket.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders player has previously hit out against head coach Gautam Gambhir. Recently, in a separate interview, Tiwary called Gambhir a hypocrite and said that the head coach did not walk the talk. On Ashwin, the former Bengal player said that Ashwin was insulted as the Indian management kept bringing in fresh spinners in home conditions, despite the veteran spinner’s presence in the team.
“Ashwin was insulted. See players like Washington Sundar and Tanush Kotian… they are all quality spinners and performed well in first-class cricket,” Tiwary told news agency PTI.
“Ashwin was insulted. See players like Washington Sundar and Tanush Kotian… they are all quality spinners and performed well in first-class cricket,” Tiwary told news agency PTI.
Ashwin retired midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The spinner held a joint press conference with Rohit Sharma after the Brisbane Test match and said that he was returning home and would not be playing the final two matches of the series. Ashwin took the call after he played only one match – the Pink Ball Test – out of the first three in the BGT 2024/25.
“Will he just carry on, after giving so many match-winning performances? He will not come and say that because he is a nice guy,” Manoj Tiwary said.
“But one day he will definitely come out and he will share his experience. This is not the right process. They are also players, and they also need some patting on the back and dignity as well,” Tiwary concluded.
Tiwary also claimed he had foreseen dressing room rifts before the Australia tour began. The former Bengal captain alleged that captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gambhir are not on the same page, a disconnect he suggested was evident from the much-publicised dressing room leaks during the tour.
He further accused Gambhir of taking undue credit for Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) successes in the IPL, both as captain and mentor, attributing these to effective PR rather than individual effort.
“Gambhir didn’t guide KKR to the title single-handedly. We all performed as a unit. Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine, and I, all contributed to the cause. But who took the credit? There is an environment and PR that allows him to take all the credit,” Tiwary alleged.
