Last Updated:
After Gambhir attended India’s pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Monday morning, Manjrekar tweeted and said it may be wise for BCCI to keep Gambhir away from such duties.
Sanjay Manjrekar slams Gautam Gambhir, suggests BCCI to keep him away from press conferences. (Picture Credit: X/sanjaymanjrekar, PTI)
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar, who has now donned the hat of an expert and commentator, wants the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to keep head coach Gautam Gambhir away from press conferences. According to Manjrekar, Gambhir, who was appointed as India’s head coach in July 2024, does not have the right demeanour nor the words to face the media.
“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 tweeted.
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
Manjrekar’s tweet came a couple of hours after Gambhir attended India’s pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Monday (November 11) and spoke on length about various topics without mincing words.
During the presser, Gambhir defended Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and said they are still very hungry to do well for the Indian team.
“For me, they are still very hungry. I am sure they have got a lot of fire to achieve a lot of success for the nation, and you should never doubt their passion for the country.”
He also confirmed that star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is the designated vice captain of the Indian Test team, will lead the side in the opening Test if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the game due to personal reasons.
The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is scheduled to take place at Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22.
“At the moment, there is no confirmation. We will let you know exactly what the situation will be. Hopefully, he is going to be available, but everything you want to know, you will get to know before the start of the series,” Gambhir said. “Bumrah is the vice captain, so obviously if Rohit is not available, he is going to lead in Perth,” the coach added.
The straight-talking former opener also indicated that KL Rahul could be asked to open the innings in place of Rohit.
“Obviously, there is Easwaran; there is KL there. We will take a call closer to the first Test match if Rohit is not available. There are options. There are quite a lot of options in this spot. Once it gets closer to the first Test match, we will try and play the best playing XI who is going to do the job for us,” he added.
