Last Updated:January 17, 2026, 08:09 IST
Manoj Tiwary criticizes Rohit Sharma’s ODI captaincy removal, blaming Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, calling it disrespectful and lacking cricketing logic.
Rohit Sharma is one of India’s most storied captains. (PTI Photo)
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary believes Rohit Sharma’s demotion from ODI captaincy had head coach Gautam Gambhir firing the gun off chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s shoulder behind it. Tiwary said Agarkar is a ‘personality’ who wouldn’t have taken the step without an ‘influence’, asking Gambhir to be ‘equally’ blamed for what he termed was a ‘disrespect’ to Rohit and a ‘big mistake’ for Indian cricket.
Rohit’s last match as ODI captain was the 2025 Champions Trophy final, where he won his second ICC trophy at the helm to join MS Dhoni as the only Indian skippers with multiple titles in white-ball cricket. However, the team said it wanted to build towards the future and named Shubman Gill, 12 years Rohit’s junior, the captain.
“I don’t know what the main cause is,” Tiwary told Sports Today. “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… 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.”
Tiwary said that since Rohit’s removal, he lost interest in ODIs because there was ‘no clarity’ on multiple aspects, leading to more and more controversies. He also blamed the management for ‘doubting’ Rohit’s abilities as a batter, saying his sacking was devoid of ‘cricketing logic’.
“I felt it was disrespectful to a cricketer who has given so much to the cricket lovers across the world… I just wonder why you had doubts regarding Rohit playing the 2027 World Cup. That means you doubted his abilities. Why would you do that? When he has scored three double hundreds, there was no question of doubting him. A big player always gets the runs. The mindset with which he played in 2023, he is such a selfless cricketer; he wanted to make a statement. Doubting his ability was a big mistake, and then removing him from captaincy was a big mistake as well. I thought it shouldn’t have happened. It cannot be cricketing logic behind his removal as the captain,” Tiwary added.
First Published:
January 17, 2026, 08:08 IST
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