MS Dhoni is widely regarded as one of India’s most successful captains. While he remains the only skipper in the world to have won all three white-ball ICC trophies- the T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup as well as the Champions Trophy, he even managed to lead his side to the number 1 ranking in the ICC Test Rankings and lift the World Test Championship (WTC) mace. However, an ex-India cricketer does not seem happy with one of his decisions and this is no one else but Bengal’s domestic great Manoj Tiwary who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket following the conclusion of Bengal’s campaign in Ranji Trophy 2023-24.
Tiwary said that he would like to ask his then captain MS Dhoni why he was ousted from the India squad despite hitting a century when other members of the side such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli got a longer run. Tiwary, who also serves as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, said in a media interaction.
“I would like to ask Dhoni why was I dropped from the playing XI in 2011 (December, 5th ODI against West Indies) after scoring the century? I had the potential to be a hero just like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli but could not be. Today, when I see many people getting more opportunities on TV, I feel sad,” Tiwary said on the sidelines of his felicitation ceremony at Kolkata’s Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club.
Manoj Tiwary Donned Indian Colours 15 Times
Tallking about Tiwary’s international career, he went on to represent India 15 times. While he featured in 12 ODIs scoring 287 runs in 12 innings, his only international hundred came in this format. He scored an unbeaten 104 against West Indies as India bagged the match by 34 runs. In the 3 T20Is that he played, he only got a chance to bat once and scored 15 runs. Ironically though despite having a stellar first-class career with over 10,000 runs at a healthy average of over 47, the right-handed batter never got to play for India in Test matches.