‘I scored a 100, was named Man of the Match and still got dropped for the next 14 matches’ – Manoj Tiwari

Indian cricket has always been blessed with a surplus of batting talent. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid have gone on to establish themselves as few of the world’s best batters over the years. There have been many other players like Amol Mazumdar who have never been able to make it to the Indian squad despite performing consistently in domestic cricket, just because the competition for places have been so tough.

But India has also witnessed players who made their way into the Indian team, performed well in the opportunities they got and yet never managed to become a regular in international cricket. The case of such cricketers is very curious and one such player is Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary.

Tiwary made his India team debut in an ODI in Australia in 2008. Thereafter, he went on to play 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, spread across a span of seven years and eight series. He also scored his maiden ODI century in the series against West Indies in 2011 but he could not find a place in the Playing XI for the next seven months after that. He scored 65 runs and also claimed four wickets when he made a comeback into the team thereafter, but even that wasn’t enough ti get him regular chances.

In an interview with Sports Tak, Tiwary expressed his disappointment at the selectors and the team management for treating him that way.

“The current management that is backing the players despite failing in 4-5 matches, had it been there when I was playing, it would have helped me because if you remember, I was scored a 100 against West Indies and was named Man of the Match. And still got dropped for the next 14 matches, couldn’t make a place in the Playing XI. It is still a mystery. This question I will definitely ask those who were in charge back then,” Tiwary told Sports Tak

“In this too, I made a world record. Barring me, there wouldn’t be a player who despite winning Man of the Match, was made to sit for the next 14 matches. After that, when I played, I picked up 4 wickets, and scored 65 runs and still did not get many chances. When you mature, you don’t regret it much. Although I do feel sad at times – when you see a player batting you think I had more potential. If I had gotten more chances, I would have proven myself.”

Tiwary also went on to explain how he would have really enjoyed to play under Rahul Dravid as the youngsters are getting a lot of backing despite failing a lot. He says that playing under Dravid would have benefitted him a lot as backing and confidence certainly helps young players to ease into the tough setup at this level. He used the example of Rishabh Pant to explain how a few lows do not determine the quality of a player.

“Had this management been there in my time, I would have gotten a lot more opportunities. You look at the players and you know they are playing freely and not out of fear of losing their place in the team. Irrespective of whether the wickets and runs are coming, the management is backing them. It feels good to see it because I have always felt that 4 innings don’t make or break a player,” mentioned Tiwary.