Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has launched a scathing attack on the current team management, asserting that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were effectively nudged into ending their Test careers. Tiwary believes a “manufactured transition narrative” was created around the senior duo, despite both wanting to continue playing red-ball cricket. Rohit and Kohli announced their Test retirements in May 2025, just weeks before the crucial tour of England. Tiwary claimed the messaging around a new era was unnecessary and ultimately pushed the stalwarts out.
“This whole ‘transition phase’ talk—I don’t agree with it. India doesn’t need a transition. New Zealand or Zimbabwe need transition,” he told India Today. “Our domestic cricket is full of talented performers waiting for chances. Because of this unnecessary transition, our star players—like Virat and Rohit—who wanted to keep playing Test cricket and protect its sanctity, slowly stepped back because of the atmosphere created around them.” Tiwary also criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir’s comments after India’s batting collapse in the Kolkata Test against South Africa, saying the coach should shoulder responsibility instead of pointing fingers. “You cannot blame players’ technique after losing. As a coach, your job is to teach, not to blame,” he said. “If the batters didn’t have solid defence, why weren’t they trained before the match? When he played, Gambhir himself was a good player of spin, so he should teach more. The results aren’t in India’s favour.” India’s defeat at Eden Gardens has pushed them down to fourth place in the World Test Championship standings, marking their third loss of the current cycle. South Africa’s win has meanwhile lifted them to the second position in the nine-team table.
