Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has made a bombshell statement that PR (Public Relations) team plays a vital role in one becoming successful in modern times. Tiwary said that had he had a PR team to back him, he could also have become captain of India. Tiwary implied that a good PR can raise the very image of a player who is on a losing streak and belittle the one from whom runs are coming consistently. He also launched a slew of allegations, particularly aimed at current India head coach and his former India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Gautam Gambhir.
“I do not have a PR team. Had I had it, then perhaps I could have become captain one day,” said Tiwary in an interview with ‘The Lallantop’.
While playing under the captaincy of MS Dhoni during his career, Tiwary elucidated how a PR team is advantageous for a cricketer.
“It is an absolute PR game. If you perform in one match but fail in three, they highlight that one performance (good PR). There will always be four or five people who will be after you to highlight that one performance again and again,” said Tiwary.
“On the other hand, one bad performance, and you are buried (if you do not have a PR). Sometimes you make a mistake, but PR makes your mistake to be someone else’s fault,” Tiwary stated.
Tiwary stated this with regards to his quarrel with Gambhir. He said relations turned sour between him and Gambhir during their days at KKR, maintaining that Gambhir would get irritated by things that were insignificant.
“Back then, Gambhir never ceased to scold me without reason. He had a ruthless tongue that could hurt you. I felt truly proud of my performance and that of the local boy at KKR. The journalists were also praising me. He probably didn’t like that,” says Tiwary.
PR was in place to hide Gambhir behind the curtains after the spat during one of the Ranji Trophy encounters involving Delhi and Bengal.
Manoj Tiwary was part of KKR’s IPL-winning 2012 side under Gambhir, and went on to hit the final winning runs. KKR would then win two more titles with Gambhir first as captain in 2014 and then in 2024 with Gambhir as team mentor.
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