A former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player has unleashed some groundbreaking statements over current India head coach Gautam Gambhir. Manoj Tiwary, who hit the winning shot at the IPL 2012 final for KKR, has once again put forward his side of the story. While Gambhir’s “supposed” rivalry with mega stars of Indian cricket attracts eyeballs, the Gambhir vs Tiwary chapter is a secret to none as well.
In a recent interview, Tiwary has come out hard at Gambhir, even revealing that the former IPL-winning captain threatened to beat him up in a Ranji Trophy game. This comes after Tiwary called Gambhir a “hypocrite,” as according to him, Gambhir took all the credit for guiding KKR to two IPL championships. Regardless, what’s more fascinating have been Tiwary’s recent comments.
Gautam Gambhir abused Tiwary?
While speaking to the Lallantop, Tiwary revealed that Gambhir abused and heckled him. While fielding at slips, Gambhir shouted at Tiwary, and even took a dig at Sourav Ganguly, who was the BCCI president back then. The chaos was a big story back in Ranji Trophy 2015 in the Delhi vs Bengal game.
“Leading up to our fight at the 2015 Ranji Trophy, he was angry at me. He thought I was wasting time. He was abusing me from slips. Nobody should use such words. (Yes, 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). I said, ‘shaam ko kyu 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 KKR, we had an argument. I was constantly getting demoted in the KKR batting order. In one of the friendly matches against Australia, I was the highest scorer. I had scored 129, while he [Gambhir] scored 110. 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.”
Arrogant Gautam Gambhir as KKR skipper?
Apart from this, Tiwary even divulged an incident where Gambhir threatened to drop Tiwary from the KKR team. The confrontation was even seen by the then-KKR bowling coach Wasim Akram. According to Tiwary, had Akram would’ve be there, a brawl could’ve surely started up.
“Once, we had a heated argument about my batting position at the Eden Gardens. I was very upset and had gone to the washroom. He barged in and said, ‘This attitude won’t work. Tujhe kabhi khilaunga nahi (I won’t give you a game). This and that. I confronted him and asked him why he was talking that way. He was giving me a threat. Wasim Akram also came in. He was our bowling coach, so he calmed things down, otherwise, haathapai bhi ho sakta tha (There could have been a physical fight too). Akram said ‘You are the captain. Cool down’. He understood; he knew what was happening. He had said good things about my talent a few years ago.”
“I would get scolded without any reason. I couldn’t understand why he would target me. In fact, when I came to KKR in 2010, he and I got along nicely. But then he would lose his cool at me out of the blue. He would use very hurtful words. Then, when I started thinking about it, I realised that out of all the local boys at KKR, I was the one who used to perform consistently. And since I was a promising youngster, the media was giving me attention. So, he didn’t react to it well. That is what I believe,” Tiwary said.
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