Indian cricket has seen many gifted players whose careers never reached the heights they once promised, and Manoj Tiwary is perhaps among the most striking examples. Fondly nicknamed ‘Chhota Dada’, Tiwary carried the weight of big expectations, yet his international journey was limited to just 12 ODIs and three T20Is. Even more baffling, these 15 appearances were spread out over seven long years, with him repeatedly drifting in and out of the side. For many, his career will always be remembered for the irony of being dropped right after scoring a century, but the story of how he got to that hundred is just as remarkable.
Tiwary’s start in international cricket was far from ideal. In his first five outings, he returned scores of 2, 2, 22, 11 and 24, struggling to make his mark. At a time when his career seemed to be slipping away, it was the legendary Virender Sehwag who extended him a lifeline. The year was 2011, December to be precise, when Sehwag demolished the West Indies with a record-breaking 219 in Indore. Yet, what followed in the very next game highlighted Sehwag’s selfless nature in a way few had witnessed before.
“I’ve got backing from Virender Sehwag. I’ve always said that Viru paaji is one of the individuals who has really backed me. In fact, the century that has come in the West Indies game where I got Man of the Match. He’s the one who sacrificed his place, and he took rest before the game. And everyone knows that in that series, where Sehwag scored a double-hundred. So he would have loved to continue and score more runs. But he’s such a good human being that he was observing my career in the Indian team for so many years. So he must have felt a little injustice was happening to me,” Tiwary said in an interview with CricTracker.
“And I felt that when he got the opportunity to rest himself and make a place for me in the playing 11, and not only make a part of the Playing XI, but also to give me my batting position, which was at number four. Initially, when I told him, when he asked me in the bus ‘Which number you want to bat?’ So before that, I was not playing. So I said, ‘Viru paji, playing for India is a big thing and an honour for me. Wherever you ask me to bat, I will bat there.’ But he said, ‘No, you tell me, where have you batted so many your First-Class cricket?’ So I said at number 4. So he said, ‘Yeah, that’s your number. You will go at 4.'”
“And he conveyed the message to [Gautam] Gambhir who led in his absence in that particular game. So he conveyed that Manoj should bat at number 4. And that is the reason you see that 100 which happened. And it was all God’s plan, basically, through him, which happened. So he always backed me. I’ve always been in debt to him till the time I’m breathing.”
Many backed Manoj Tiwary but MS Dhoni wasn’t one of them
Tiwary pointed out Sehwag wasn’t the only senior who recognised his potential, but notably, MS Dhoni wasn’t among them. Over the years, Tiwary has often voiced his disappointment with the former India captain for not giving him enough opportunities. To be fair, during the period between 2008-2012, India’s middle order was overflowing with talent: young aspirants waiting in line and established stalwarts firmly holding their spots. Yet, Tiwary believed Dhoni had the final say. Once the skipper had made up his mind, his decision left little room for debate.
“And Sachin [Tendulkar] Paji as well, Yuvraj Singh as well, Harbhajan Singh as well. A lot of seniors have back me during that time, but they have limited control over the decision-making. At that time, the only decision-maker was MS Dhoni, and also the foreign coaches who come up, they just go with the captain because nobody wants to go to war with the Indian captain because their jobs are on the line. Because if a captain complains to the BCCI or shows disagreements over a few things, then the blood is always on the neck of the coaches.”
“We have seen this in the past as well. So your captain is the last one in Indian cricket. We have seen over a period of time. So apart from him, I think everyone has backed me, supported me. So I won’t say that seniors have not backed me, just that the decision maker who was MS Dhoni, I didn’t get the backing, which I was hoping to get.”
