Manoj Tiwary slams Ryan ten Doeschate for demoralizing Rohit Sharma comment
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary slammed assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate for suggesting that Rohit Sharma’s poor form in the ODI series against New Zealand was due to being “short on cricket”. Tiwary called the comment demoralizing and said Ten Doeschate’s international achievements are “not even 5 percent” of what Rohit has accomplished in his career, both as a batter and captain. The harsh criticism came after Rohit managed only 26 and 24 runs in the first two ODIs against the Kiwis, with Ten Doeschate publicly attributing the struggles to a lack of match practice.
What Ryan ten Doeschate said about Rohit
After India’s defeat in the second ODI at Rajkot, Ten Doeschate was asked if Rohit had made any changes to his playing style that might be affecting his batting against New Zealand. The Dutchman denied this and instead pointed to external factors, saying the wickets were slightly difficult and Rohit might be a bit short on cricket leading into the series.
“He’s definitely not the sort of guy to play for himself. It’s just a combination of the wickets being slightly difficult and maybe just being a little bit short on cricket leading into the series,” Ten Doeschate said at the post-match press conference. The 38-year-old Rohit, who had entered 2026 as the number one ODI batter in the world, failed to convert his starts in both matches despite seeing off the new ball.
Manoj Tiwary’s harsh assessment of Ten Doeschate
Tiwary, who played alongside Ten Doeschate at Kolkata Knight Riders for four years, didn’t hold back in his criticism of his former teammate. While acknowledging that Ten Doeschate is a very good person, Tiwary said the assistant coach should have thought carefully before making such comments about a player of Rohit’s stature.
“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. If you look at his performance in international cricket, I am saying 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 told PTI.
Why Tiwary called it demoralizing
Tiwary emphasized that Rohit has given the nation immense happiness, including winning the Champions Trophy, and making such comments when the player is still part of the team is particularly damaging. He pointed out that Ten Doeschate is not an outsider commenting from home but a member of the management, which makes the remarks even more problematic for team morale.
“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 said.
Tiwary had previously questioned the BCCI selection committee’s decision to strip Rohit of ODI captaincy responsibility, showing his continued support for the veteran opener. Former cricketer Priyank Panchal also criticized Ten Doeschate for making public comments about players like Rohit Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy, adding to the backlash against the assistant coach.