Retired Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary questioned his former Indian teammate and captain MS Dhoni for dropping him from the team despite scoring his maiden ODI century in 2011.
Manoj Tiwary recently retired from first-class cricket after playing his final Ranji Trophy match against Bihar at his home ground Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. Tiwary signed off from cricket after Bengal's innings and 204-run win over Bihar in their final Elite Group B match of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
Manoj Tiwary represented India in 12 ODIs. The 38-year-old notched up his maiden International century in an ODI match against West Indies in 2011, scoring an unbeaten 104 off 126 balls. Tiwary was adjudged Player of the Match for his performance. Thereafter, Tiwary was dropped from the squad.
Manoj Tiwary questions MS Dhoni
Speaking on the sidelines of his felicitation at Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club, Manoj Tiwary said that he had the potential to become a best batter like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli if he wasn't dropped by former skipper MS Dhoni from Indian Team. He added that Rohit, Kohli and Suresh Raina weren't scoring runs in the India tour of Australia in 2011-12.
"I would like to ask Dhoni why was I dropped from the playing XI in 2011 after scoring a century? I had the potential to be a hero just like Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli but could not be." Manoj said.
"In that Australia tour, nobody was scoring runs, neither was Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or Suresh Raina. I have nothing to lose now." he added.
Manoj Tiwary played in ODI and T20I cricket for Team India. In 12 ODIs, he 287 runs, including a century, at an average 26.09 across 12 innings.
Manoj Tiwary's Career
Manoj Tiwary made his first-class debut for Bengal in Ranji Trophy match against Delhi in December 2004. Since then, the retired cricketer went on to become one of the stalwarts of Bengal cricket over the years.
In 2020, Tiwary recorded his maiden triple century in a Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad, scoring unbeaten 303 off 414 balls to help his team put a solid total of 635/7 in the first innings. In that match, Bengal defeated Hyderabad by an innings and 303 runs.
In first-class cricket, Manoj Tiwari has amassed 10195 runs, including 30 centuries and 45 fifties, at an average of 47.86 in 148 matches.
Manoj Tiwary made his international debut in an ODI match against Australia in 2008. Three years later, in 2011, Tiwary made his first appearance in T20I but played three matches and scored 15 runs at an average of 15.
In IPL, Manoj Tiwary played for mutiple franchises including Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Super Giants. In 98 matches, seasoned cricketer amassed 1695, including seven centuries, at an average of 28.92 and a strike rate of 116.97.
