Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has questioned the team management’s approach after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli stepped away from Test cricket earlier this year. Tiwary claimed that both senior players were willing to continue, but a “transition” narrative was created around the team, indirectly pushing them towards retirement.
Rohit and Kohli announced their Test retirement in May 2025, just weeks before India’s tour of England. Speaking about India’s defeat to South Africa in the first Test, Tiwary said that a transition phase is unnecessary for a country like India, which has a strong talent pool ready to step up.
According to him, teams like New Zealand or Zimbabwe might require a structured transition, but India does not.
“Our domestic circuit is full of players waiting for opportunities. This whole transition talk made the environment uncomfortable for seniors like Virat and Rohit. They wanted to keep playing and protect the value of Test cricket, but the atmosphere pushed them back,” Tiwary said in an interview with India Today.
He also criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir for publicly questioning the batters after the team’s collapse in the chase.
“As a coach, your role is to guide and prepare players, not blame them after a loss. If the batting technique was a concern, why wasn’t it addressed before the match? Gambhir was himself strong against spin, so this guidance should’ve come from him,” Tiwary added.
Following the setback in Kolkata, India slipped to fourth place in the current World Test Championship standings. Meanwhile, South Africa climbed to the second spot after their commanding victory.
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