Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has strongly criticised India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate for his remarks on Rohit Sharma’s recent form in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. Ten Doeschate had suggested that Rohit’s modest returns—scores of 26 and 24 in the first two matches—might be due to a lack of game time. However, Rohit returned to international cricket in October with a bang, scoring a fifty and a century in the ODI series in Australia to claim the Player of the Series award, before carrying that momentum into India’s home series against South Africa. He also played in Mumbai’s first two Vijay Hazare Trophy games last month, including a commanding century in the opener.
Speaking to PTI, Tiwary, who was a former IPL teammate of ten Doeschate at KKR, hit back: “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 called on ten Doeschate to reflect on his words. “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 face New Zealand in the final ODI of the three-match series on January 18 in Indore. Rohit, who has retired from Tests and T20Is, will then take a break from international cricket ahead of India’s England tour in the summer.
