11 January 2025- Former India batsman Aakash Chopra has criticized Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana for making similar posts endorsing Gautam Gambhir on social media. The whole issue began when Manoj Tiwary referred to the India coach as a “hypocrite” and taking credit for the 2012 and 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) victories of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Tiwary called Gambhir a “hypocrite” because his actions did not match his words. He cited the former India opening batter’s old interview in which he expressed displeasure with appointing foreign coaches. But then Gambhir chose Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel as a part of his coaching staff.
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In Frame: Gautam Gambhir
Nitish Rana and Harshit Rana then took to X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram Stories to voice support for Gambhir.
Aakash Chopra, however, noted the uncanny similarities between Harshit’s and Nitish’s statements, saying they give a “Chat GPT product” feel.
Speaking on his YouTube channel on Saturday, Aakash Chopra said, “Harshit Rana and Nitish Rana voiced their support for Gambhir on social media. If you look at it, it looks like a Chat GPT product.”
“There are many similarities in both statements, or someone wrote them and sent them to post on social media. It felt like both statements were written by the same man or machine. It could be Chat GPT, for all we know,” he added.
After ten years, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and Gautam Gambhir is taking a lot of heat. India also suffered a Test series thumping at home under Gambhir after losing the ODI series to Sri Lanka.
Tiwary discussed a number of reasons for India’s loss in an interview with Hindustan Times, claiming that poor selection decisions were made. He even questioned Gambhir’s coaching background, claiming that coaching and mentoring IPL teams are entirely different.
Reacting to Tiwary’s comments, Aakash Chopra further said, “Manoj Tiwary is right about one thing: he talked about Gautam Gambhir’s old comment about foreign coaches. Let’s be fair: Gautam Gambhir selected Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel. I have to be honest. Both Morne and Ryan are people with a heart of gold. They are sincere and honest, but they are not Indian. ”
“On the other hand, Manoj Tiwary talked about Gautam getting all the credit for KKR’s success in IPL in 2012 and 2014. When discussing credit, you should give it, not take it. MS Dhoni never says anything, he stands on the completely opposite end, he never asks for credit but people give him credit. He has never asked for credit in a public forum, and people might not like him getting credit, but Dhoni has never asked for it himself,” he added.
