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Breaking into the Indian cricket team is an very big challenge, but staying in the squad is even harder. As the country's most popular sport, the talent pool is large, which sometimes leaves players frustrated due to limited opportunities.
This was the case for Manoj Tiwary, who, even after averaging 99.50 in the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy, had to wait a long time for his international debut because of an injury. When he finally made his debut in 2008, it was absolutely not a memorable start. Tiwary went on to score his maiden ODI century against West Indies in Chennai in 2011, but he was benched for many months after that match.
''He was the captain. Team India runs according to the planning of the skipper. In state teams, things are different but in Team India, it’s all about the captain. If you see, during Kapil Dev's time, it was he who ran the show; during Sunil Gavaskar's tenure, it was his call, the same was true during Mohammad Azharuddin's time. After that, Dada and so on. This will continue unless a strict administrator comes and establishes a set rule," Manoj Tiwary told to Lallantop.
"You see Ajit Agarkar (current BCCI chief selector) and you feel he can take strong decisions. He can disagree with the coach. As far as me being dropped for 14 matches after scoring a century, if a player is dropped after scoring a century, obviously I want to know the answer. After the century, I was praised, but post that I did not have any inkling. At that time, youngsters used to feel afraid, including me. If you ask something, who knows what way it could have been taken. Career is on the line."
"The players who were in the team then were Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma. After that, during the Tour that took place, they were not making runs. And here I was, even after making a century and winning Player of the Match, could not find a place in the playing XI. I was dropped for 14 matches, which took place in a span of six months. At that time, the dropped player did not get enough practice. I wanted to retire but due to family responsibility, I could not."
Manoj Tiwary, who captained Bengal for a very long period of time, also served as the Minister of State for Affairs of Sports and Youth.