Manoj Tiwary is still here, and he's got miles to go before he sleeps

“He can turn an India prospect into a no-prospect in three balls” – Arun Lal, Bengal coach, on Manoj Tiwary, and how he can be devastating against spinners.

“By God’s grace, I have been able to play spin very well over a period of whatever career I’ve had. But having said that, I’m tired of listening to ‘Good player of spin’ only. I’ve played fast bowlers also, and I’ve scored thousands of runs against them as well.” – Manoj Tiwary, on being told he’s an exceptional player of spin bowling.

Manoj Tiwary is a man of paradoxes. In June 2021, he was celebrating winning an election and becoming an MLA in Bengal. In June 2022, he’s come into the Ranji Trophy knockouts and batted three times so far, never out for below 73. A minister for sport for the state of Bengal, the unofficial minister of rescue operations for the Bengal Ranji team. 

Tiwary has played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, but anyone who watched him at his peak knows that could have easily been a lot more. Against Madhya Pradesh in this year’s Ranji semi-final, Tiwary came out to bat in the fourth over with his team 11 for 3 – and promptly hit three fours in the first four balls he faced. He was batting with broken cartilage in his left knee and heavy strapping on his right knee, often hobbling to take singles, but the innings was still smoothly fluent.

He came in facing questions about whether he still had a career left in cricket after starting one in politics, about whether his knees could hold up through an innings let alone a match. He responded by being 84 not out at the close, with every prospect of adding one more to his 28 first-class centuries. It was like he was telling the world at large, ‘Hey guys, Manoj Tiwary is still around’.

“Ya obviously,” he smiles. “Manoj is still here. See, it does not bother me when questions that are raised come from a fan or someone who I’m not in touch with or don’t know. But when it comes from someone I’ve known for years, been with them for so many years, and they raise questions behind the back about whether he’ll be able to do it or not – then only it hurts. Otherwise, it doesn’t bother me.

“I’ve always mentioned, whether I score zero or hundred, self-belief and confidence is my strength. When everyone was thinking I’ll not be able to score… I know how to score runs by God’s grace. It pushes me as well. Sometimes these things help you to be disciplined on the field. It’s always about proving to ourselves, and sometimes proving to others as well. Before the last game, there were people who were raising questions. Now the same people are encouraging me and are very happy to see me score runs. Now they believe that, ‘yes, Manoj is still at his best’. So it gives a happy feeling.”

Image Credits : CAB

 

Tiwary added an unbroken 143 runs alongside Shahbaz Ahmed, taking Bengal from 54 for 5 to 197 for 5. The deficit is still 144 runs, but Tiwary and Shahbaz have given Bengal a chance, at even winning the game, an impossible thought when the first five wickets fell.

“Bengal needs this win to reach the final. We are the best side,” Tiwary emphasises. “Although we didn’t play well in a couple of sessions, eventually if you see, Bengal is the best team in the country right now. So the pressure was always there. It was our duty to hang in there, hang in there.”

The innings itself showed that Tiwary had lost neither skill nor smarts. He had come into this game after hitting 73 and 136 against Jharkhand in the quarter-final, but that was in a very high-scoring game. Here, MP had thrown a curveball by opening with two spinners under overcast skies on a pitch that had seen overnight rain – and succeeded. Not that the tactics caught Tiwary off guard, having come up against MP coach Chandrakant Pandit over the years.

“I was expecting it because I know Chandu sir from a long period,” Tiwary says. “Just before lunch, they had only 15-odd minutes, so they would try to get as many overs in as possible – because it’s a time when batsmen are always under pressure.”

Tiwary had a few tricks of his own to counter MP too. “I was very conscious of the fact that I have to play against what they are thinking,” he says. “They all know me, that Manoj will come, he will try and play aggressive shots and go over the top – so I have to be one step ahead of them. That’s why I didn’t play any lofted shots today. I was very tempted to, but I did not play that.”

His life in cricket, Tiwary says, has helped him make the transition to politics more easily. “I’ve seen a lot of things in cricket, from fairness to unfairness, justice to injustice. I’ve learned and interacted with so many people,” he explains. “Being able to survive in this field for so long with different individuals, it has become easier to deal in the political field as well. It’s about getting everyone together. Thankfully I’ve been leading a lot from junior-level cricket to the senior team as well, so that leadership quality is what I’m trying to reflect there as well.”

And, in turn, his fledgling political career has had some knock-on effects in making him more diplomatic off the field, while adding more zing to his dressing room speeches. Addressing team-mates in a closed dressing room must feel like a breeze after addressing large rallies of people you’re trying to get to vote for you.

“In hindsight yes!” he laughs. “I have understood now when to say what and when not to say what. How much to say and how much not to say. I’m not the captain right now, I’m just a senior player. Abhi [Abhimanyu Easwaran] is leading, Anustup [Majumdar] is the vice-captain. He’s not officially been named but he’s the one looking after. Then there are coaches to take calls. As a politician, I’m just waiting for my turn, and give my opinions whenever they ask.

“Yesterday I gave a bit of a serious speech because after getting them four down, 97 for 4, the game was just going away. So I gave a fiery speech.”

At 36 years old and with dodgy knees, Tiwary knows he’s closer to the finish line than the start of his career. Before that, there is one burning ambition to satisfy. “I’ve always said: before ending my cricketing career, I want to hold that trophy for Bengal,” he says of the Ranji Trophy

Eventually, an operation will be needed for the knees. “I have to go under the knife, for a better lifestyle in the future.”

And to address his rallies? “For my rallies,” he laughs. “And my son is also growing up, I have to run around with him.”

For now, he’s carrying Bengal – on knees that have a broken cartilage and required an injection pre-game so that he would last five days. He, and Bengal need that, to potentially make memories that will last forever.