Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Manoj Tiwary has launched a fresh attack on India head coach Gautam Gambhir, whom he accused of being responsible for the franchise’s exit from the Indian Premier League (KKR) after of 2013.
Tiwary had revealed last year that he had a big fight with Gambhir in 2013 when he was in KKR and it led to multiple clashes in the future.
Wasim Akram knew about the fight between Gambhir and Tiwary
KKR had won the IPL 2012 under the captaincy of Gambhir, which included Tiwary. The former Bengal batsman claimed that although things were going well initially, the relationship soured over time.
“They would scold me for no reason. I couldn’t understand why he would sign me up. In fact, when I came to KKR in 2010, he and I got along very well. But then he would lose his cool at me out of nowhere. I would use very hurtful words. Then when I started thinking about it, I realized that out of all the local KKR boys, I was the one who used to perform consistently. And since I was a promising young man, the media paid attention to me. So, he didn’t react well. That’s what I believe,” Tiwary said in an interview with Lallantop.
Tiwary said KKR’s then bowling coach Wasim Akram knew about the fight and tried to calm Gambhir down.
“We once had a heated argument about my batting position at Eden Gardens. He was upset and had gone to the bathroom. He burst in and said, ‘This attitude won’t work.’ Tujhe kabhi khilaunga nahi (I will not give you a game). This and that. I never liked those words. He was threatening me,” Wasim Akram also entered. He was our bowling coach, so he calmed things down. He said, ‘You are the captain.’ Calm down. He understood, he knew what was happening,” Tiwary said.
The Bengal batsman was released by KKR after the 2013 season when he returned to Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and played for them until 2015.
Tiwary earlier this month revealed that Gambhir had had an altercation with him on the sidelines of a 2015 Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Bengal at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. He claimed that Gambhir had threatened him inside the premises intended for journalists, so their fight became public.
Tiwary, who scored over 10,000 runs in first-class cricket for Bengal, played three T20Is and 12 ODIs for India between 2008 and 2015.
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