"Never understood what went wrong between me and Gambhir," says Manoj Tiwary

We often see cricketers getting into arguments, which sometimes goes beyond the tolerant line. It is disappointing for all cricket lovers to see all these happening in a game that’s hailed as “The Gentlemen’s Game”, but it’s important to live with a fact that the game has changed drastically. But sometimes, these altercations turn friends into foes and one of the best examples in Indian cricket is the Gambhir-Tiwary saga.

Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary played together for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and they together propelled their side to their maiden IPL title in 2012. But a dramatic verbal spat between the players during a Ranji match in 2015 resulted in both the players being fined 70 per cent(Tiwary) and 40%(Gambhir) of match fees.

It’s been a long while since these incidents took place but Manoj Tiwary still feels he was being victimized by some hypothetical arguments. In an interview with Sports Star, Tiwary challenged the interviewer to go and check the video of what exactly happened during that match in 2015, which will reveal who did what on that particular date.

“People have this perception about me, which isn’t true”

When asked about his not so cordial relationship with the southpaw from Delhi, Tiwary reckoned people have a wrong perception about his attitude. He also added he never really understood what happened that day.

“People have a perception of me getting involved in such heated arguments unnecessarily. But that was not the case. These days, each and every domestic match gets recorded. Everybody can watch the video and find out what exactly happened between me and Gauti bhai. The people from the media sit inside the ground, so the voices can be heard clearly. So, everybody knows who did what on that particular afternoon,” Tiwary said.

Tiwary noted that he had a great time during his tenure as a Kolkata Knight Riders’ player and his relationship with Gambhir was very good back then. He even claims to have advised Gambhir to rope in Sunil Narine, a decision that proved to be a masterstroke for them. He also spilled some beans on how the support staff member Debabrata Das was appointed on his advice to the captain.

“I was the one who told him(Gambhir) to go for Sunil Narine. I had seen Sunil bowl to Rohit Sharma during one of India’s matches against the West Indies. I also spoke about Debabrata Das. I had told Gauti bhai to pick Debabrata in the local catchment slot though the latter had a lack of confidence,” Tiwary added.

“Always had great respect and admiration for Gauti bhai”

It came in as a massive shock for all the fans of Kolkata Knight Riders when Tiwary was released from the squad after the 2013 season. Tiwary opined that he never understood why they left him and only the management has an answer to it. “I don’t know what went wrong (and why was I released). May be, the KKR management knows better why they left me out of the team,” He said.

Tiwary also made some interesting allegations that some people around Gambhir didn’t like his proximity to him. He indirectly had blamed these people for their strained relationship. He also added that he had great respect and admiration for the Indian opener and is disappointed with the tussle that took place between them.

“I always had great admiration and respect for Gauti bhai. May be, there were a few people around him who didn’t like my proximity to him. May be, the relationship soured because of that. I know for a fact that some people were not too happy with our bonding. May be, they could have influenced him,” Tiwary said.