‘Gauti Bhaiya is someone who…’, KKR star’s ‘personal insecurities’ remark amid Gautam Gambhir criticism goes viral
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been facing all the backlash after India's loss in Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Under Gambhir's guidance, India lost two Test series, one ODI series and won two T20I series so far.
India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Harshit Rana has backed Gautam Gambhir amid the ongoing backlash against the national team head coach following India’s 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), which concluded last week. With this loss, India not only relinquished the BGT after 10 years but were also knocked out of the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Ever since Gambhir succeeded Rahul Dravid, Indian cricket has gone downhill. Under the guidance of Gambhir, India won two T20I series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka and lost the Test series against New Zealand and Australia.
Following India's BGT drubbing, Gambhir has been facing severe criticism, with former cricketers calling him a ‘hypocrite’. Amid all these, Rana, who blossomed at KKR and also made his India debut, both under Gambhir, came in support of the 43-year-old.
Rana wrote in an Instagram story, “Criticising someone due to personal insecurities is not good.” The fast bowler further called Gambhir as someone who always backs players. “Gauti bhaiya 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,” Rana added on his Instagram story.
Rana was part of the KKR squad that won the Indian Premier League for the third time last year. It was also Gambhir's first IPL title as a mentor. Earlier, Gambhir led KKR to two IPL titles as a captain in 2012 and 2014.
In fact, Rana made his India debut under Gambhir's coaching in the first Test in Perth. The Delhi pacer took four wickets in Perth en route to India's 295-run win. He also played in the second Test in Adelaide but returned without a wicket.
Manoj Tiwary lashes out at Gautam Gambhir
Earlier, Gambhir's former KKR teammate Manoj Tiwary lashed out at the former India opener. Tiwary, who played a handful of matches for India, said Gambhir isn't the ‘right choice’ for Indian cricket's top job.
“See, the results are there to be seen. Results don't lie. Numbers don't lie. The record speaks for itself,” Tiwary told PTI. The 39-year-old questioned Gambhir's coaching methods and stated there is a big difference between a coach and a mentor.
“It will take a lot of time for him to get on the track, or to winning ways because I don't see any experience behind his coaching the Indian team. In Test cricket or in one-day series, I don't think he has any experience of coaching to be honest,” added Tiwary.
“The decision to appoint him as head coach, by just seeing (IPL) results, was wrong. In my opinion, it was not the right choice,” he added. Notably, Gambhir didn't have any coaching experience at any level before he was appointed as Dravid's successor in June.
After retirement, Gambhir was involved in politics before returning to cricket in 2022 with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as a mentor. He served at the LSG for two seasons before shifting his base to KKR for IPL 2024.
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Business NewsSportsCricket News‘Gauti Bhaiya is someone who…’, KKR star’s ‘personal insecurities’ remark amid Gautam Gambhir criticism goes viral
First Published:10 Jan 2025, 11:39 AM IST
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