Manoj Tiwary, who scored his maiden triple century in first-class cricket, said the IPL snub was “hard to digest”. Tiwary smashed an unbeaten 303 for Bengal against Hyderabad but, at this age, and given the Indian team’s recent team look, his national comeback might not possible.
“It was difficult to digest the fact (IPL snub). But that’s the reality. Obviously, it feels bad when you see so many youngsters playing and I sit back at home watching. Those shots I could have hit. It’s the harsh reality for me,” Tiwary said. “The franchise management looked for something different.”
Tiwary became only the second player from Bengal to score a triple century after Devang Gandhi (323). However, he preferred to remain optimistic and asked the selectors to look at his consistency and quality as well.
“At the moment India are winning. It’s difficult with the way India are shaping right now. But anything is possible in this world. Confidence is my strength. I always have to keep hope. Age is just a number for me,” the 34-year-old said.
“It was quite special. Even India Test batsman Hanuma Vihari (23) failed there. If it was difficult for him, then it would have been more difficult for us. it was challenging conditions. So it’s about the quality of knocks,” he added.
“It’s difficult to say about my comeback… I cannot select myself. But for someone with 8000-plus runs (8752) at 50-plus average (in first class cricket), you should see the consistency, the quality of knocks and not just individual brilliance,” he shared.
He spent 10 hours and 30 minutes at the crease before Bengal declared at 635 for seven, Tiwary hit 30 fours and five sixes in his knock. However, he has a century on the international front as well. During the 2011-12 season, he notched up a 104 against the West Indies in Chennai before being left out from the team.
“I have always believed in my abilities and hardwork and my job is to keep scoring runs and win for the team,” said Tiwary, who last played for India in 2015, when a second-string national side toured Zimbabwe for an ODI series.
Manoj Tiwary did not play in any of the sides despite scoring well in the 2017-18 domestic season when he amassed 507 runs at 126.7 – the highest-ever List-A average in a single domestic season in India as well. He also has an average more than 100 in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy, a feat that no other batsman has achieved in a season so far.
However, the former Bengal captain dedicated the knock to his one and half-year-old son Yuvaan, whose name was inscribed prominently on his bat too.
“This knock is very special for my family and to my son especially. Whatever I do now is for Yuvaan. He has been lucky for me. This knock also came from the bat with Yuvaan’s name,” he said.
“I would rate this behind my 104 — that was for India (against West Indies). But first 300, pretty happy. I played in a crucial and difficult situation in the morning. My role was important to hang in there and see off the new ball. It’s a milestone I will cherish forever,” he said.
