'I scored a 100 and was Man of the Match, still got dropped' - Manoj Tiwary lauds India's current team management for backing players

Over the years, the Indian cricket team and its fans have seen several talented batters who played good cricket in the international arena but failed to represent the country regularly and eventually got out of the equation. Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary can be named amongst those players.

The right-handed batter made his debut in 2008 and managed to play only 12 ODIs and three T20Is for the Men in Blue in a career spanning seven years and eight series. Tiwary scored his first century for India in December 2011 but had to wait for another seven months to get his next opportunity. Former cricketer and currently a politician, Tiwary has said that if he was playing under the current management, then things would have been different.

The current management is backing players despite they are failing 4-5 matches: Manoj Tiwary

“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, and 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. Had this management been there in my time, I would have gotten a lot more opportunities,” Tiwary added.

Tiwary also cited the example of Rishabh Pant, who has been backed by the team despite his middling returns recently, reckoning that had he got such backing in his time, he would have achieved a lot more.

“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,” he said.