In the aftermath of India’s 3-1 series loss to Australia that led Rohit Sharma’s men to concede the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade, former India batter Manoj Tiwary criticised current national team head coach Gautam Gambhir, terming him a ‘hypocrite,’ and went on to suggest that the ex-India opener doesn’t does not walk the talk.

“Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite. He doesn’t do what he says. Where is the captain (Rohit) from? Mumbai. Where is Abhishek Nayar from? Mumbai. They got a chance to put a Mumbai player in the forefront. There is no one to speak for Jalaj Saxena. He performs well but keeps quiet,” Tiwary was quoted as saying by News18 Bangla.

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“Morne Morkel came from Lucknow Super Giants. Abhishek Nayar was at Kolkata Knight Riders with Gambhir and the Indian head coach has a comfort zone with him. They have to be yes men to the coach. That’s why they were brought,” he added.

Tiwary also said that Gambhir wasn’t the only one to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to a title in 2012 but it was a collective effort from the team.

“Gambhir’s captaincy didn’t guide KKR to the title single-handedly. We all performed as a unit. Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla and I performed with the bat and Sunil Narine bowled exceptionally well. That is why we won the 1st IPL title. But who took the credit? There is an environment and PR that allows him to take all the credit,” he said.

India have lost six of the 10 Tests since Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid as head coach. His next big assignment is the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE which begins in February.

As such, Gambhir has been under the scanner after historic whitewashes against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and the loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has only added to his worries. With the bilateral series against England later this month, and the Champions Trophy, coming up next month, the two-time World Cup winner will be desperately pushing his side to deliver the results.

Meanwhile, reacting to Tiwary’s sharp attack on Gambhir, KKR fast bowler Harshit Rana and former captain Nitish Rana strongly refuted the claims, voicing their support for Gambhir.

“Criticising someone due to personal insecurities is not good. Gauti bhaiya (brother) is someone who thinks more for others than himself. He always backs players when they are down and puts them in the limelight when things go our way. He has shown this on multiple occasions. He has a lot of knowledge on how to turn games in your favour,” Harshit wrote on social media.

Nitish shared similar sentiments, saying, “Criticism should be based on facts, not personal insecurities. Gauti bhaiya is one of the most selfless players I’ve ever met. He shoulders responsibility in times of distress like no other. Performance doesn’t need any PR. The trophies speak for themselves.”