Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary hit out at India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate over his recent remarks on Rohit Sharma’s form. Ten Doeschate had suggested that Rohit was short on game time heading into the home ODI series against New Zealand, following scores of 26 and 24 in the first two matches.
Rohit, however, had returned to international cricket in October with a bang, scoring a fifty and a century in the ODI series in Australia to clinch the Player of the Series award, before carrying that momentum into the home series against South Africa. The 38-year-old, though, failed to convert his starts in the opening two games against New Zealand.
After the visitors levelled the series in Rajkot earlier this week, Ten Doeschate reiterated that lack of game time may have contributed to Rohit’s struggles. The comment came despite Rohit featuring in Mumbai’s first two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches last month, including a commanding century in the tournament opener.
Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a recent event, Tiwary lambasted his former IPL teammate, saying: “With a lot of respect, I would like to tell Ryan ten Doeschate that he was with me for four years at KKR. No doubt he is a very good person, but the kind of comment he has made, I think he should have thought about it. He has also played international cricket for the Netherlands, but if you look at his international record, I say this with all due respect—it is not even 5% of what Rohit has achieved in his career, not just as a batter but also as a captain.”
Tiwary described the comment as demoralising, especially given it came from a member of the support staff, and urged the former Netherlands international to reflect on his words and avoid repeating them.
“He has given the nation so much happiness by winning the Champions Trophy also and after that, talking like this, that too when he is in the team, not like he is sitting at home and commenting, he is a part of the management, and telling like this about your player is demoralising. I don’t know why he said that. He has to reflect on this. I feel he must not make such comments,” Tiwary added.
India will play their final ODI game against New Zealand on January 18 in Indore. Rohit, retired from Tests and T20Is, will then go on a break from international cricket until the tour of England in summer.
