'People have forgotten the match you won by hitting 5 sixes' - Manoj Tiwary slams Rahul Tewatia amid batting struggles in IPL 2026

Published - 21 Apr 2026, 16:16 IST | Updated - 21 Apr 2026, 16:32 IST

Gujarat Titans suffered a crushing 99-run defeat to the Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, April 20. After the one-sided result, former India all-rounder Manoj Tiwary suggested that multiple changes are needed in the Titans' line-up.

Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan have been struggling with the bat so far. While Tewatia has scored 49 runs in six innings at an average of 24.50, Shahrukh has only managed 35 runs in four innings at 11.67.

Tiwary said that Tewatia cannot be persisted with just because he hit five sixes off Sheldon Cottrell to win the Rajasthan Royals a memorable encounter in IPL 2020. On Monday, Tewatia made eight off 11, while Shahrukh scored 17 off 13.

"You must drop either Rahul Tewatia or Shahrukh Khan because a lot of matches have gone by. Today was a golden chance. Aap jo match jeetaye the Sharjah mein 5 chakke marke woh bhul gaye hai log (People have forgotten the match you won by hitting five sixes in Sharjah). Only a few people remember that. Now, people just remember how you have played in your last innings. These two were retained at a high value, so they will have to repay that faith," Tiwary said during a discussion on Cricbuzz.

Tewatia was brought in as the Impact Player when the Titans had slumped to 55/5 in the eighth over. Former India fast bowler Mohit Sharma opined that the 2022 champions missed a trick by not sending in wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat instead of Tewata, who hasn't been in great nick.

"I feel that Anuj should have come in. There were 12 overs left at that stage. They will have to think about how they will utilize these things," he said during the same discussion," Mohit said during the same discussion.

Tiwary also launched a scathing attack on the out-of-form Glenn Phillips. The former mentioned that the 29-year-old performs well for New Zealand, but while playing for the Titans, he has failed to make the most of his opportunities.

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"They could have considered Jason Holder in place of Glenn Phillips. Glenn Phillips is not looking in rhythm, and if you see his records, he has not played an impactful innings in any league till now. He plays well for New Zealand and hits big sixes, but he wasted an opportunity here," the cricketer-turned-expert stated.

Phillips has played all six games for the Titans this season. He has only aggregated 67 runs in five innings at an average of 16.75 and a strike rate of 124.08. The Kiwi all-rounder hasn't been used with the ball.