'Criticism should be based on facts' - Nitish Rana defends Gautam Gambhir after Manoj Tiwary's scathing critique

Former India cricketer, Manoj Tiwary recently came hard at his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Captain, Gautam Gambhir. The right-handed batter accused Gambhir of stealing credit for KKR’s two triumphs under him in the IPL (Indian Premier League) 2012 and 2014 editions. He argued that one man rode away with the credits while it was a collective effort from the whole team. 

However, after Tiwary's accusations, another former KKR leader, Nitish Rana came in support of the veteran and the latter rebutted the allegations exerted by the former. Nitish also defended the team India Head Coach after the team’s disastrous 1-3 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25). Though Nitish did not take Tiwary’s name in his post, his tweet was potentially directed towards Tiwary’s critique.

"Criticism should be based on facts, not personal insecurities. Gauti bhaiyya is one of the most selfless players I’ve ever met. He shoulders responsibility in times of distress like no other. Performance doesn’t need any PR. The trophies speak for themselves,” Nitish wrote on his ‘X’ handle.

“Gambhir didn’t guide KKR to the title single-handedly as we all performed as a unit. Jacques Kallis, Sunil Narine and I, all contributed to the cause. But who took the credit?” Tiwary said about Gambhir as quoted by News18. 

Here’s Nitish Rana’s latest post on ‘X’: 

India suffer series of losses under new guardian

It is worth noting that Gautam Gambhir has been under the scanner after India’s depleting run. Under him, India managed to win the T20I series against Sri Lanka and both the Test and T20I series against Bangladesh at home. Subsequently, India lost the ODI series in Sri Lanka and were whitewashed at home by New Zealand for the first time in their history of playing cricket.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir is a hypocrite, doesn't do what he says: Manoj Tiwary

Further, swords were hanging on the heads of the Indian team as they entered the Australian shore. But the 1-3 loss meant that they got out of contention for the World Test Championship 2025 final. They will now have their eyes set on the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 to redeem themselves.