‘It’s not just Shreyas Iyer’s fault’: Former cricketer urges India to ‘address elephant in room’ after Ireland humiliation

RL: Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer (PTI Photo) India’s disappointing 2-0 defeat in the T20I series against Ireland drew criticism from former batsman Manoj Tiwary who questioned who would be held responsible for the team’s poor performance. Despite entering the series as the two-time defending T20 champions, India struggled with the conditions and failed to deliver with the bat in both matches.Tiwary suggested that the focus should not be solely on captain Shreyas Iyer, who came under scrutiny after the defeat. Instead, he argued that the team’s management and support staff led by head coach Gautam Gambhir should also be held accountable for the result.In a video posted on his X account, Tiwary expressed concern over what he described as the “elephant in the room” and questioned why the role of management was not discussed after the series loss.“India could have won the World Cup in South Africa. But what about the T20I series lost against Ireland? Who will be held responsible? I told you to address the elephant in the room but no one believed my words. I know the PR agencies and friends of the so-called decision maker will start pointing the blame at Shreyas Iyer,” said Manoj Tiwary.The former India batsman stressed that the defeat was a collective failure and warned against singling out Iyer for criticism. According to Tiwary, the entire batting unit was struggling and the role of the coaching staff should also be examined.“It’s not just the fault of Shreyas Iyer as a batsman but also the fault of the other batsmen who were not able to perform. The mechanism turns a corner and pinpoints Shreyas Iyer for this series loss. It’s not the players but the elephant sits quietly in the dressing room and goes unaddressed most of the time. It’s high time we address this issue.”