The rivalry between Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary traces back to a heated incident in 2015 during a Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Bengal at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla). The two players, who had previously been teammates at Kolkata Knight Riders, clashed on the field, exchanging harsh words and nearly coming to blows. The fallout from that altercation has left their relationship strained ever since. Even after a decade, Tiwary has continued to criticize Gambhir, taking shots at his coaching style, personality, and even recalling an incident when the former India opener allegedly threatened him during their KKR days.

What many don’t know, however, is that Gambhir also had a tense moment with former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. According to Tiwary, while Gambhir was directing his ire at him, he made disparaging comments about Ganguly as well. Tiwary, who shares a close bond with Dada, passed on these remarks to Ganguly. But as expected, Ganguly responded with his trademark composure and dignity.

“I’ve never heard anyone use such harsh language. If someone insults your mother, you shouldn’t just stay silent. I’m not the kind of person who can take abuse quietly. So, I asked him, ‘Gauti bhai, why are you speaking like this?’ After the over, I lost my temper. He then threatened, ‘Meet me in the evening, I’ll teach you a lesson.’ I replied, ‘Why wait till evening? Let’s do it now.’ The match was in Delhi, and no player had ever spoken to me like that. The media present heard everything that was said.”

“The umpire stepped in, but he went as far as pushing him aside. After that over, I was at the non-striker’s end, and he came to mid-off and started abusing me again. Umpires can’t do much in such situations. He’s a big player, and they’re scared of his influence.”

The incident that sparked the tension reportedly stemmed from Gambhir’s belief that Tiwary was deliberately stalling the game with only 40 minutes remaining. Gambhir launched into a verbal barrage, which Tiwary didn’t take kindly to. The altercation escalated further when Gambhir supposedly challenged Tiwary to a fight after the match. This incident marked the turning point in their already fractured relationship, and things have remained frosty between the two ever since.

“Amidst all this drama, it’s worth noting that Sourav Ganguly had just taken over as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal at the time. Gambhir was talking badly about him too, saying things like, ‘He used his connections to get there. You followed him too, doing all these things to reach where you are.’ When I told Dada about it, he simply said, ‘It’s fine.’ My job was to inform him. You can clearly see Gambhir has an anger problem. After that day, there was no chance for any conversation or reconciliation between us.”