Opening Doorz

By Moody Marty | Opening Doorz Editorial | January 24, 2026

Indian cricket has reached a curious place. We no longer argue about teams, tactics, or transitions. We argue about personalities; who said what, who replied faster, and who sounded cleverer in the process. Wins are optional. Milestones are not. Defeats are forgiven, provided the right individual shines through the rubble.

In this theatre of noise and name, the idea of a team has quietly slipped out the back door. What remains is a brand-driven sport, where authority is debated in tweets, leadership is mistaken for volume, and critique is treated as betrayal. Somewhere between hero worship and hurt egos, Indian cricket has stopped looking like a collective pursuit and started resembling a solo act with a supporting cast.

What India now is in desperate need of is a new cricket coach. Following Shashi Tharoor’s tweet (read: “googly”), one is trying to make sense of what it actually means. Being Tharoor, and given his lavish use of linguistic largesse, it may take time to crack the code. However, Gautam Gambhir was quick in his response, as if on cue:

“Thanks a lot Dr @ShashiTharoor! When the dust settles, truth & logic about a coach’s supposedly “unlimited authority” will become clear. Till then I’m amused at being pitted against my own who are the very best!”

The reply too, is quite a delivery. Not a Yorker. Not a full-toss. Not an out-swinger. But a ‘No-Ball’! Whatever it is that the two of them are communicating on Twitter (for me, it will always be Twitter) makes little sense to the outsider.

The dust has settled; New Zealand have romped home and gone home. However, we are happy speaking about how a 37-year-old Virat Kohli is playing. It doesn’t seem to matter that we lost the series; Virat scoring runs after a lean phase is a “jubilation moment” for us Indians. An individual performance is apparently good enough to sustain us until our next defeat, at which point we simply wait for another individual milestone to supersede the collective failure.

Such a gung-ho mentality we have! Which is why we don’t have a cricket team: we have Virat Kohli. Who has New Zealand got? Arre baba, the Kiwis are a team, not a hero-worshipping nation that kills team spirit at the altar of stardom and ego.

The Case for Coach Tharoor

This brings me to the crux of the matter: the coach. If there is anything that can make this Indian cricket team a strong unit, it is a leader who understands that the game is bigger than the brand. I wrote last month about why Gautam Gambhir might not be the right man for the job. As things stand today, methinks Shashi Tharoor should be made coach of the Indian Cricket Team.

At least (along with the losses and Individual gains) we would have interesting post-match press conferences.

Picture this scenario after Greenland beats India:

“Greenland resoundingly trounced India in today’s cricketing conflagration, yet our lads evinced commendable mettle amid the maelstrom. To essay the noble art of cricket upon the subcontinent’s implacable pitches constitutes a herculean, Sisyphean ordeal. Though ignominiously discomfited, we shall extrapolate perspicuous verities from this lugubrious dénouement—a veritable farrago of fortuitous lessons. Virat, that indomitable behemoth of the batting pantheon, essayed a prodigiously resplendent innings, a sesquipedalian symphony of strokes.”

The Sanjay Manjrekar Truth

Speaking of Virat, I cannot help but think about Sanjay Manjrekar. With his honest, no-holds-barred comments, Manjrekar is rarely the favourite person in the room. One may hate him for speaking the truth, but you have to admire his courage to speak like a man with a spine. He does not speak to please. He knows his cricket, and he refuses to be a back-scratcher.

What did Manjrekar actually say? He described ODIs as the “easiest format” and expressed disappointment at Kohli’s focus on the 50-over game. It was a compliment. This shows that he held the player in high esteem to want him in the trenches of Test cricket.

“It was okay, Virat Kohli just walked away from cricket, retired from all cricket. But that he’s chosen to play one-day cricket actually disappoints me more, because this is a format which, for a top-order batter, I’ve said before as well, is the easiest format.”

He also spoke like a mentor, pushing Virat to his greatness, which he knows he possesses. He wanted him to have tried harder before quitting to improve his average of 31 over five years.

Now, how many ‘experts’ viewed Virat’s retirement through this lens? Only a passionate cricketer who understands the passion of another will do that.

Where was Virat’s Bhaiya earlier?

Yet, Virat’s brother takes offence. He goes ‘ga-ga’ after a century, but where was this gentleman when his bhaiya was fishing outside the off-stump in Tests? Where was he when Virat’s captaincy struggled to keep the unit together? Remember the Anil Kumble saga? Silence then. Remember the lashing out at a journalist? Silence then. Suddenly, the Virat PR machinery is in overdrive.

Virat’s bhaiya has squeezed Manjrekar’s comment out of context for maximum PR impact.

Manjrekar does not need Kohli for his dal chawal. He respects cricket and knows cricket has to be respected.

No one who tries to bully Manjrekar succeeds. It isn’t an ego tussle. Remember Sourav Ganguly attempting to “get back” at him by dropping him from the IPL commentary panel in 2020, after he became the BCCI Chief? History tends to vindicate the man who speaks his mind, rather than the one who plays to the gallery.

Take a bow, Sanjay Manjrekar!

You are not a “bits and pieces” commentator with vested interests.

[Moody Marty: Sometimes funny, sometimes informative, always downright forthright!]

Also Read

IPL Commentary Controversy: Getting personal with Sanjay Manjrekar!

Virat Kohli should stop playing favourites, and focus on cricket!

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