Before I Retire, I Want To Hold That Ranji Trophy: Manoj Tiwary

Manoj Tiwary has been one of the most popular faces in Indian cricket since his debut in 2004. He has been representing Bengal for the last 18 years and in between had his stints with the Indian team and IPL as well. 

In February 2021, Manoj Tiwary took a step further into his new career - political - when he joined the All India Trinamool Congress party, won the seat, and got appointed as a minister of state for Affairs of Sports and Youth. 

However, the cricketer in him hasn't left yet. Tiwary last played a professional cricket match before joining politics, back in January 2021. He got picked for Bengal's Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season but not playing cricket regularly caught up with him as he had a forgettable league stage. 

“Whenever there was a training session, I did my best to be there. I did miss a couple of training sessions but when you play first-class cricket for 18 years, you know what needs to be done to stand on the field for five days,” he said when asked about dealing with the lack of match practice as quoted by Sportstar. 

“Cricket has helped me deal with situations in politics. You gain so much experience on the cricket field – happiness, sadness, regrets, opportunities, distrust. Politics has not helped me in cricket but it’s the other way round.” 

In the Quarter Finals of the Ranji Trophy, Manoj Tiwary stepped up as he smacked 73 and 136 in the two innings against Jharkhand as Bengal stormed into the Semi-Finals on the basis of a 475-run lead in the first inning. 

He is one of the rarest cricketers who has done well after turning into a full-time politician. Although the records are a bit off but Roy Frederick is one of the known players who managed to do well despite holding a position in the ministry. 

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“I have been very close to becoming a Ranji champion but was unlucky three times. Before I retire, I want to hold that Ranji Trophy,” Tiwary said, who was part of the team in 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2019-20 that went into finals but lost.