Manoj Tiwary makes a U-turn, comes out of retirement for one more season

Kolkata, Aug 8 (IANS) Bengal veteran batsman Manoj Tiwary on Tuesday made a U-turn on his sudden decision to retire from all formats of cricket five days ago and now wants to play red-ball cricket one more season and help the state win the elusive Ranji Trophy title.

On Tuesday, Tiwary announced that he has decided to come out of his few days-old retirement to play one more season for Bengal in the red-ball format and hopefully help the team bag the elusive Ranji Trophy crown. Manoj announced his sudden retirement from the game on social media last Thursday.

In a press conference held at the Media Center of the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, Tiwary was accompanied by CAB President Snehashish Ganguly and Hony Secretary Naresh Ojha.

Speaking about Tiwray's sudden retirement, Ganguly said, "After I got to know about Manoj's retirement, I was very much surprised at his decision. I got in touch with him and told him that after representing Bengal for nearly two decades, this is not the right way to announce his retirement. 

"A player and leader like him must retire on the cricket field and not in this manner. He has contributed immensely to Bengal Cricket, so he deserves a special and proper farewell," he said.

Tiwary, under whose leadership Bengal finished as runners-up in Ranji Trophy last season, stressed that his main aim will be to lift the Ranji Trophy crown next season and bid farewell to the game.

"The decision taken by me was a sudden one. I was selfish in taking this decision as this might have hurt my family, teammates and fans," he was quoted as saying in a statement by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Instagram on Tuesday.

"My wife also scolded me after I posted the announcement on social media. After that, I spoke to Snehashish (da), and he convinced me to play for Bengal for one more season. The love and respect I got from CAB is unforgettable and you must remember that what CAB does for its players is unparallel. I would like to apologize to fans and my well-wishers, and I hope to give my best next season and bring glory to Bengal," Tiwary signed off.

Tiwary hasn't played a white-ball game for Bengal since November 2022 and will be available for first-class matches for only the 2023-24 season.

The 37-year-old Tiwary has represented India in 12 ODIs and three T20Is between 2008 and 2015.

He has played 141 first-class matches and is just 92 runs short of 10,000 runs in the format, his 9908 runs at an average of 48.56 with 29 centuries and 45 half-centuries.