Still, the question remains unanswered why Rohit Sharma was removed from the captaincy role. Manoj Tiwari says, “Fired the gun from his shoulder” on Gambhir influencing Agarkar to remove Rohit Sharma from captaincy, and this is a big statement that the former Indian cricketer has given regarding the current Indian team head coach, Gautam Gambhir. He also highlighted his relationship with Ajit Agarkar, who is the current chief selector of the Indian team.
There is no introduction needed for what Rohit Sharma has done for Indian cricket, and his contribution as the captain to the success of the Indian team. After India just missed out on the 2023 ICC World Cup, India under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025. From the start of the 2023 ICC World Cup to the final of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, India lost only one match in ICC events, and it was a heartbreaking loss in the final of the 2023 ICC World Cup.
Also check out: ICC Men’s ODI Batting rankings: Virat Kohli back at number one, Rohit drops to 3
Manoj Tiwari says, “Fired the gun from his shoulder” on Gambhir influencing Agarkar to remove Rohit Sharma from captaincy
Basically, Manoy Tiwari, who has played for the Indian team and also represented teams in the Indian Premier League, feels that Gautam Gambhir is the man behind Rohit Sharma’s captaincy removal. He says that the Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar, has been influenced by the head coach to take this tough call. This is not the first time that Manoj Tiwari has called out the head coach Gambhir. Tiwari also feels that the people behind this decision have surely disrespected Rohit Sharma, as he continued to perform in the ODI format, and is keen to play the ICC World Cup 2027 and fulfill his dream.
I don’t know what the main cause is. But knowing Ajit Agarkar, he is a personality. He is a decision maker. He will not take a step back in taking such steps. But whether he was influenced by someone to fire the gun from his shoulder is something we need to look at. A lot of things happen behind the scenes, which makes 1+1 2. Maybe the decision was made by the chief selector, and he was very upfront about it. Naturally, the coach’s inputs must be there. You cannot make the decision on your own. Both are equally responsible for whatever decision was made
See, there has been a lot of inconsistency in picking the playing XI, in my opinion. If I have to be brutally honest with you, I have lost interest in watching the ODI games. The things that have panned out of late, when the T20 World Cup-winning captain and the Champions Trophy-winning captain is removed from the captaincy, and the responsibility is given to the new guy, which I felt was not required. I have played with Rohit. We have a connection, so I didn’t like how it panned out. I felt it was disrespectful to a cricketer who has given so much to the cricket lovers across the world. From that day, I lost a bit of interest. A lot of controversies, and I feel that is happening because the clarity is not there
Manoj Tiwari talks about his relationship with the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar. He says that Ajit is a strong character and is smart with his decisions, and this is not the decision that he might have taken alone. Manoj says that the chief selectors make the decision, but it surely depends on the input from the coach as well, and feels that Gambhir’s role would have been major in taking a call on Rohit Sharma not being the captain of the Indian Cricket team in the ODI format.
He also spoke about him losing interest in watching the Indian matches in the ODI format, as Rohit Sharma is no longer the captain of the Indian team. Manoj Tiwari still feels removing Rohit was not logical, and it is hard for him to understand this move, just like many of the fans. He also thinks that the selectors could have done a better job of handling the transition. Rohit continues to play for India in the ODI format along with Virat Kohli and both of them continue to aim for the World Cup 2027 which is in South Africa.