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Gautam Gambhir Is A Hypocrite: Former Indian Batter
Follow UsHe questioned Gambhir’s consistency, citing the coach’s previous statements against India playing Pakistan
Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary has called out India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir as a “hypocrite” for going ahead with India’s scheduled matches against Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup, starting September 9 in the UAE.
Tiwary’s remarks come amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions, following the Pahalgam terrorist attack in May-June and India’s Operation Sindoor. Despite the strained relations, both teams are set to face each other in the Asia Cup 2025 - on September 14 in Dubai, and potentially again in the Super 4 and final, depending on progression.
Tiwary questioned Gambhir’s consistency, citing the coach’s previous statements against India playing Pakistan. “I always felt that he's someone who is a hypocrite. He's a hypocrite because when he was not the coach of Team India, he's the one who said that India and Pakistan should never play a match between them,” Tiwary told CrickTracker.
“What will he do now? He's the coach of the team that's going to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Why can't he just resign and say that I will not be part of the team India because you are playing with Pakistan?”
Tiwary also criticised the decision to exclude Yashasvi Jaiswal from the Asia Cup squad, preferring Shubman Gill despite Jaiswal’s exceptional IPL 2025 form. The young batter scored 559 runs at an average of 43, with a strike rate of 159.70, dominating the powerplay like very few others.
Jaiswal was exceptional at the top, hammering 369 runs at an average of 61.50 and a strike rate of 177.40 in the first six overs. Across the last three IPL seasons, his powerplay strike rate of 169.5 comfortably outshines Gill’s 143.2.
“He's (Gambhir’s) the one who said that Yashasvi Jaiswal is one of the players who is the future of Team India, and also he's someone who will not be kept outside T20. He should not be kept outside T20. He should be given a longer run. And now, he's not there in the team,” Tiwary said.
“So, there are a lot of things apart from these couple of statements where he said something, and did just the opposite. So, I always felt that he's a hypocrite, and he's always been a hypocrite.”