Indian cricket has got many match winning batsmen and bowlers over the years. However, this is not the first time. Indian cricket through the ages has seen exceptional players of both the ball and the bat. After the era of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, people wondered whether the next generation would have that talent. After this came Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag. Once their time was up, the world saw the talent of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and other Indian cricketers.
However, at the same time, there were some players who, despite being rich in talent and ability, could not achieve the same status or fame. Amol Mazumdar, Ranadeb Bosay were also exceptional cricketers but could not play for the Indian team due to some reason. Similarly, there were some players who got a place in Team India, they also performed well, but their career did not last long. One such is Manoj Tiwari.
After making his debut in 2008, Manoj Tiwary played only 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India in 7 years and 8 different series. He scored his first century for India in December 2011, but had to wait another 7 months to get the next one. Manoj Tiwary’s India career was full of possibilities, but the former batsman has no regrets. However, he feels that if he had played under the current management, the landscape of his career and the way his career ended, could have been completely different.
Talking to Sports Tak, Manoj Tiwary said, ‘The current management which is supporting the players despite failing in 4-5 matches, it would have helped me when I was playing, because if you remember. So I scored 100 against West Indies and was also the man of the match. Still sat on the bench for the next 14 matches. Couldn’t make it to the playing XI. It is still a mystery. I will definitely ask this question to the people who were in charge at that time.’
Manoj Tiwari took a jibe at the management of Team India and said, ‘In this case also I made a world record. There will be no player except me who despite being named man of the match will sit for the next 14 matches. After that, when I played I took 4 wickets and scored 65 runs and still didn’t get many chances. When you mature, you don’t regret it much. However, I feel sad at times – when you see a player batting and you think I have more potential. Had I had, I would have been able to prove myself if I had got more chances.
Manoj Tiwary said that if he had got a chance to play under Rahul Dravid, he would have definitely benefited a lot. Manoj Tiwary cited the example of Rishabh Pant to justify the current management’s strategy of supporting the players for longer and longer periods. He explained how certain ups and downs do not decide the quality and class of a cricketer.
He said, ‘If such management was in my time, I would have got a lot more opportunities. You see the players. You know they are playing independently and not for fear of losing their place in the team. The runs are coming, the management is backing him. It’s good to see it because I have always felt that 4 innings doesn’t make or break a player.’
Manoj Tiwary said, ‘If the management has decided that yes, this player has the potential to win a match at any point of time. Recently, people pointed fingers at Rishabh Pant for not being consistent, but Rahul Dravid made it clear that he is part of Team India’s larger plans. He is going to make us win matches.