'Gautam Gambhir fired the gun from Ajit Agarkar's shoulder': Ex-India player on Rohit Sharma's ODI captaincy removal

Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma (Getty Images)

Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has openly criticised the decision to remove Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain, suggesting that head coach Gautam Gambhir may have played a role in influencing the move. Tiwary, who has had a long-standing rivalry with Gambhir, feels the selectors and management disrespected Rohit by stripping him of the leadership role. Rohit, who retired from T20Is in June 2024 and Tests in May last year, had been performing strongly in ODIs and was looking to be at his peak ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Yet, when India’s squad for the Australia ODIs was announced in October, Shubman Gill was named the new captain. This decision surprised many, particularly as Rohit had led India to an ICC Champions Trophy victory in his last match as captain.

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Tiwary believes that while Ajit Agarkar , India’s chief selector, is a strong personality and capable of taking tough calls independently, Gambhir’s influence likely factored into Rohit’s removal. “I don't know what the main cause is. But knowing Ajit Agarkar, he is a personality. He is a decision maker. He will not take a step back in taking such steps. But whether he was influenced by someone to fire the gun from his shoulder is something we need to look at. A lot of things happen behind the scenes, which makes 1+1 2. Maybe the decision was made by the chief selector, and he was very upfront about it. Naturally, the coach’s inputs must be there. You cannot make the decision on your own. Both are equally responsible for whatever decision was made,” Tiwary told Sports Today. The former India batter admitted that Rohit’s removal has affected his interest in watching ODIs, despite the presence of Virat Kohli in the side. According to Tiwary, Rohit no longer appears as animated or commanding on the field. “See, there has been a lot of inconsistency in picking the playing XI, in my opinion. If I have to be brutally honest with you, I have lost interest in watching the ODI games. The things that have panned out of late, when the T20 World Cup-winning captain and the Champions Trophy-winning captain is removed from the captaincy, and the responsibility is given to the new guy, which I felt was not required. I have played with Rohit. We have a connection, so I didn't like how it panned out. I felt it was disrespectful to a cricketer who has given so much to the cricket lovers across the world. From that day, I lost a bit of interest. A lot of controversies, and I feel that is happening because the clarity is not there,” he said. Tiwary questioned the reasoning behind the decision, noting that Rohit’s proven leadership and track record should have warranted more respect. “It would have made this decision more sensible, because Rohit is a proven captain. He has won two ICC trophies. We nearly missed out in 2023. I felt Travis Head was lucky; it was his day. If we had won that, Rohit would have ended up with three trophies. I just wonder why you had doubts regarding Rohit playing the 2027 World Cup. That means you doubted his abilities. Why would you do that? When he has scored three double hundreds, there was no question of doubting him. A big player always gets the runs. The mindset with which he played in 2023, he is such a selfless cricketer, he wanted to make a statement. Doubting his ability was a big mistake, and then removing him from captaincy was a big mistake as well. I thought it shouldn't have happened. It cannot be cricketing logic behind his removal as the captain,” Tiwary added. The former player’s comments underline the controversy surrounding Rohit’s exit from ODI leadership and highlight lingering questions over the roles of both the coach and the selectors in the decision-making process.

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