Legendary Bengal cricketer Manoj Tiwary bid farewell to all forms of cricket at the end of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy campaign. Tiwary, who captained the Bengal side, received a guard of honour from his team during the last match against Bihar. The Cricket Association of Bengal organized a memorable farewell ceremony to honour Tiwary’s illustrious career. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly attended the farewell, praising the contributions of the retiring cricketer.

During an emotional interaction with the media, Tiwary shared his thoughts on his international career, expressing a regret about not playing more for India. The right-handed batsman, who represented India in 12 ODIs, particularly highlighted his century against West Indies in Chennai. Tiwary scored an unbeaten 104 in that match, steering India to victory and earning the Player of the Match award. Despite this performance, he faced disappointment when dropped from the team after a few games.

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“I want to hear from him whenever I get the opportunity. I will definitely ask this question and I will ask him cordially. I would like to ask MS Dhoni why I was dropped from the team after scoring the century, especially in that tour of Australia where nobody was scoring runs, neither was Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, or Suresh Raina. I have nothing to lose now,” Manoj Tiwary expressed in the interview with News18 Bangla.

I would like to ask Dhoni why I was dropped from the Playing XI in 2011 after scoring a century I had the potential to be a hero just like Rohit, Kohli but could not be. Today, when I see people getting more opportunities on TV, I feed sad. – Manoj Tiwary #MSDhoni #cricketnews pic.twitter.com/Qb3sfQiO4m

— Cut.Shotcricket (@cutshotcricket) February 20, 2024

Reflecting on his cricket journey, Tiwary mentioned that not playing Test cricket was one of his significant regrets. Despite an impressive first-class record with 10,195 runs, he never received a Test cap. Tiwary recalled instances where he felt close to earning a Test spot but was ultimately overlooked.

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“I did not get the Test cap for India. When I had completed playing 65 first-class matches, my batting average was around 65. The Australia team had toured India then, and I had scored 130 in a friendly game, then I scored 93 against England in a friendly game. I was very close, but they picked Yuvraj Singh instead. So not getting a Test cap and dropping me for 14 matches after I scored a century…when confidence is at its peak and someone destroys that, it tends to kill that player,” Manoj Tiwary revealed.

While expressing some disappointments, Tiwary also acknowledged the support he received from the BCCI throughout his career, choosing not to name individuals. The cricketer retired with a wealth of domestic cricket experience and left an indelible mark on Bengal cricket.