Bengal Sports Minister Manoj Tiwary has commented on the debate on the absence of local talent in the Indian Premier League in the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise. While speaking to Sports Tak, Tiwary sounded annoyed about the fact that Bengal players get the chance in the squad for other IPL teams, but KKR ignored their presence on a constant basis.

“Certainly I would like to see a change. I always say that there should be a lot of players (from Bengal in KKR). So my only question is that if Bengal players can play for those other teams regularly in the playing eleven, why can’t they play here. So that question mark is always there on the management. They never talk openly also. They stay silent, and this question mark always remains on them,” Manoj Tiwary said on Sports Tak.

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“Local players inspire kids in the stadium. Fans would want to support their local players. They will always support their team but when they see that there is a local player in the squad, they will take that emotion with them. I will ask our honorable chief minister Mamata Banerjee to speak with Shahrukh Khan. He is West Bengal’s brand ambassador. We’ll see what happens after that,” Manoj Tiwary further added.

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Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders have given the chances to the all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Manoj Tiwary in their line-up and have even added Ashok Dinda as well. It will be interesting to see if Bengal players get more chances to play in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders in future or not.