Manoj Tiwary questions MS Dhoni for his omission from Indian Team despite maiden ODI century in 2011
Former Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary raises eyebrows as he questions MS Dhoni's decision to drop him from the Indian team despite scoring his maiden ODI century in 2011.
Manoj Tiwary reflects on omission from Indian team despite maiden century. In 2011, during an ODI clash against West Indies, Manoj Tiwary showcased his talent by notching up his debut international century, an unbeaten 104 off 126 balls.
Tiwary, the former captain of Bengal, has raised questions regarding his exclusion from the Indian team by his former teammate and captain, MS Dhoni, despite achieving his maiden ODI century in 2011.
Having recently concluded his illustrious first-class cricket career after the Ranji Trophy match against Bihar at Kolkata's Eden Gardens Stadium, Tiwary retired following Bengal's impressive 204-run victory.
During his representation in 12 ODIs for India, the 38-year-old batsman played a pivotal role by crafting an unbeaten 104 off 126 balls in the 2011 ODI against West Indies, earning the title of Player of the Match. However, following this significant achievement, Tiwary found himself unexpectedly dropped from the squad.
Addressing his concerns at a felicitation event held at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club, Manoj Tiwary expressed his belief that he held the potential to become a standout batsman akin to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli if he hadn't been excluded by MS Dhoni from the Indian Team. He highlighted the struggles of top-order batsmen during the India tour of Australia in 2012, including Kohli, Sharma, and Raina, who were all grappling to score runs.
"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 Sharma and Virat Kohli, but it didn't happen," questioned Tiwary.
"In that Australia tour, nobody was scoring runs, neither Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, nor Suresh Raina. I have nothing to lose now," he added.
Manoj Tiwary's international cricket journey was confined to ODI matches for Team India, where he accumulated 287 runs, including a century, maintaining an average of 26.09 across 12 innings.