Barring me, no one has been dropped for 14 games after winning Man of the Match award, states Manoj Tiwary

Manoj Tiwary made his debut for India in 2008. Across seven years and in eight different series, he could have only got to play 12 ODIs and three T20Is, scoring 287 and 15 runs respectively. In December 2011, he hit his maiden hundred for India, which remained his only hundred for the country. Then after notching the hundred, where he was adjudged the Player of the Match, Tiwary had to wait for seven months to get his next opportunity, which certainly was a surprise for everyone, including him.

Speaking on Sports Tak recently, Tiwary, who recently helped Bengal reach the Ranji Trophy semi-final, was asked about that mysterious call taken by the then BCCI selectors. The 36-year-old replied it still remains a question to him as well, and he will definitely ask those who were in charge back then whenever he gets a chance.

"The current management that is backing the players despite failing in 4-5 matches, had it been there when I was playing, it would have helped me because if you remember, I was scored a 100 against West Indies and was named Man of the Match. And still got dropped for the next 14 matches, and couldn’t make a place in the Playing XI. It is still a mystery. This question I will definitely ask those who were in charge back then," Tiwary said on Sports Tak.

"In this too, I made a world record. Barring me, there wouldn’t be a player who despite winning Man of the Match, was made to sit for the next 14 matches. After that, when I played, I picked up 4 wickets, and scored 65 runs and still did not get many chances. When you mature, you don’t regret it much. Although I do feel sad at times – when you see a player batting you think I had more potential. If I had gotten more chances, I would have proven myself."

Further, Tiwary lauded the current group of BCCI selectors, saying: "Had this management been there in my time, I would have gotten a lot more opportunities. You look at the players and you know they are playing freely and not out of fear of losing their place in the team. Irrespective of whether the wickets and runs are coming, the management is backing them. It feels good to see it because I have always felt that 4 innings don’t make or break a player."