Former teammate calls Gambhir ‘hypocrite’ ahead of Pakistan clash

KARACHI: Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary lashed out at their men’s team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, calling him a hypocrite over his willingness to play against Pakistan in the upcoming ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025.

Arch-rivals Pakistan and India are set to lock horns in the blockbuster clash on September 14 in the group stage of the continental event despite the calls for a boycott from several Indian fans and former cricketers.

The two teams may come face-to-face two more times in the eight-team tournament if both qualify for the final.

Meanwhile, Tiwary, who represented India in 12 ODIs and three T20Is, questioned India’s decision to play against Pakistan due to their recent cross-border tensions.

He then went on to launch a verbal attack on his former India teammate Gautam Gambhir, who had called for a complete suspension of Pakistan-India cricketing ties in May this year.

Tiwary further cited Gambhir’s previous stance on cricketing ties with Pakistan and called him a 'hypocrite’ for being the coach of the Indian team that is scheduled to play against arch-rivals.

“I always felt that he's someone who is a hypocrite. He's a hypocrite because he's the one who said that India, when he was not the coach of Team India, said that India and Pakistan should never play a match between them. What will he do now? He's the coach of the team that's going to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup,” Tiwary told an Indian cricket news website.

“Why can't he just resign and say that I will not be part of the team India because you are playing with Pakistan?” he added.