‘Keep him away from such duties, he does not have the right demeanour’ - Sanjay Manjrekar scrutinises Gautam Gambhir’s press conference

India head coach Gautam Gambhir slammed Ricky Ponting for his comments on Virat Kohli’s form ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The former Australia captain commented that Kohli’s form is concerning and added that Sanjay Manjrekar told him that the star India batter has managed only two Test centuries in the last five years. Ponting added to that by saying that any player who has similar stats won’t fit in any international team.

Replying to the same, Gambhir asked Ponting to focus on the Australian team and not think much about India. His comments arguably upset Manjrekar who wasn’t shy to blast at Gambhir on social media. He requested BCCI officials to keep the Delhi-born away from such duties as he doesn’t have the right demeanour or words. The 59-year-old added that captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar should be preferred over Gambhir.

Also Read - ‘What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket?’ - Gautam Gambhir defends Virat Kohli ahead of BGT 2024-25

“Just watched Gambhir in the press conference. May be wise for @BCCI to keep him away from such duties, let him work behind the scenes. He does not have the right demeanour nor the words when interacting with them. Rohit & Agarkar, much better guys to front up for the media,” Manjrekar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read what Manjrekar posted on X here:

Just watched Gambhir in the press conference.
May be wise for @BCCI to keep him away from such duties, let him work behind the scenes. He does not have the right demeanour nor the words when interacting with them. Rohit & Agarkar, much better guys to front up for the media.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 11, 2024

Gambhir to leave for Australia with second batch of players

Meanwhile, Gambhir also noted that he is not thinking about the World Test Championship (WTC) final the goal is for the team to win the upcoming Australia series. Notably, the Rohit Sharma-led side need to win 4-0 against Australia to guarantee their place in the summit clash, or else it will come down to calculating how other teams perform in their remaining matches.

On the other hand, a batch of Indian cricketers have already reached Perth and the second one will be leaving on November 11. They are slated to start practice at WACA on Tuesday, November 12 but all the players may not come for training, given their travel status. The second batch of players, and head coach Gambhir will depart on Monday, November 11.