Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary has slammed the national selector from East Zone, Devang Gandhi, after being ignored for the Duleep Trophy. India Blue, India Green and India Red squads for the Duleep Trophy, to be played in Bangalore from August 17 to September 8, have been announced on Tuesday. Tiwary didn’t feature among the 44 cricketers picked for the tournament.
“Last year, when I wasn’t picked for the Duleep Trophy, I tried to reach out to him (Gandhi). But there was no response from his end. I wanted clarity. I texted him my stats, but despite that he kept ignoring me. I also messaged other members of the selection committee. But I didn’t get any kind of response. It’s very disappointing that the selector from our Zone doesn’t present our case (during selection meetings),” Tiwary told The Indian Express. “He has let us down. He has failed as a selector. He hardly turns up for Bengal matches,” the middle-order batsman added.
Tiwary lamented that the selectors chose quantity over quality. “It’s easy to score tons of runs in the Plate Group. Bengal feature in the Elite Group A in the Ranji Trophy and we play our home matches on Eden Gardens green-tops in the winter. If you don’t come and see, how will you pick a player?”
Milind Kumar, who played for Sikkim as an outstation professional in the Ranji Trophy last season and scored 1,331 runs in the Plate Group, will turn up for India Green in the Duleep Trophy. Tiwary, on the other hand, had made 616 runs, including a double century and a century, playing in the Elite Group A.
“Two seasons ago, I made an all time record in Indian domestic cricket, scoring at an average of 100-plus in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy. I also had the highest strike-rate. Despite that I had been ignored. India had a problem at the No. 4 position and mind you, I was dropped after scoring a hundred in an ODI, batting at No. 4. I demand clarity,” Tiwary said.
Tiwary is 33 years old and the selectors apparently focused on the future, with regards to picking the Duleep Trophy squads. The Bengal captain disagreed.
“Age is just a number. I’m still very fit and it’s all about your ability as a cricketer. Faiz Fazal (33 years old) will captain a team (India Green) in the Duleep Trophy.”
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
