Former Indian star now blames Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma for his short international career

It is not easy to enter into the Indian cricket team, even harder to retain a place in the side. It being the most popular sport in the country attracts a potent talent pool. This also means that players are sometimes grumbling about lack of opportunities. And herein lies a problem for Manoj Tiwary as well. Back in 2006-07, he averaged 99.50 in the Ranji Trophy, but had to wait long for a chance to break the international crust due to injury. Yet, when finally the call came in 2008, it was a far cry from what he had hoped for. Tiwary scored his first ODI hundred against West Indies in Chennai in 2011, after which he had to cool his heels riding the bench for months together.

At that time, the captain was MS Dhoni.

“He was the skipper, and Team India runs according to the plans of the captain. If you compare it with state teams, it is a different scenario, but when it comes to Team India, at the end of the day, it is the skipper’s decision. If we take it back to the time of Kapil Dev, it was all him who used to run the team; it was only him who was in charge during Sunil Gavaskar’s time, Mohammad Azharuddin, after that Dada, and so on. And this would continue unless a strict administrator comes in to make fixed rules,” Manoj Tiwary told Lallantop.

“Now see, you have Ajit Agarkar, who can take stern decisions. Ajit can even disagree with the coach. When I got dropped after scoring a century, obviously I would have wanted an explanation. The century was praised, but beyond that, I had no inkling. At that time, we were all scared, including me. If you ask something, who knows what way it could have been taken. The career is on the line.

At that time, his team consisted of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and Rohit Sharma. The tour was held afterward. They did not score runs. I scored a century and became a Player of the Match, but I could not cement my position in the playing XI. I was dropped for 14 matches in six months. During those days, players that were removed from the team were not given enough chances to prove themselves. I thought of quitting, but family responsibility kept me bound.”

Manoj Tiwary has captained Bengal for a long time and is even a Minister of State for Youth and Sports Affairs.

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