‘Had to pay off loan, sold poori sabzi’- Manoj Tiwary recalls hardships in teenage years

The difficulties Indian cricket players face on their path are overshadowed by the glamor and glamour that surround them. Not every cricket player hails from a wealthy family. Many cricket players must endure hardships before they can achieve success. Manoj Tiwary, who has represented India in three Twenty20 Internationals and twelve One-Day Internationals, is one such case. Legends like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar have all shared the Indian dressing room with him. If he had been a little luckier, he could have played many more games for the Men in Blue.

After being left out of the Indian team for a long time, the former Bengal captain recently stated in an interview that he considered retiring early. Family obligations, however, compelled him to keep playing. Prior to working at a business that made nuts and bolts, he disclosed that as a teenager, he sold poori sabzi, a traditional Indian dish, in Kolkata.

“I did not take an early retirement because of responsibilities. These were challenging times. I was always aware that I needed to repay the loan. We have Mangla Haat. I once sold poori sabzi in Kolkata. The pooris used to be made by my mother. At times, people did not even pay for the meal they consumed,” Manoj Tiwary told Lallantop.

“I was employed in nut and bolt manufacturing. I was about 14 years old at the time. When I played at the U-16 level, I was paid Rs 1200 every game. To ensure that the money would always arrive, I calculated my chances and made sure I performed well at cricket. I fled the factory. It was too busy. “We used to be forced to work by the factory owner,” he continued.

Team India follows the captain’s plans, Manoj Tiwary

In 2011, Tiwary achieved his first ODI century in Chennai against the West Indies. But after that game, he was benched for months. At that time, MS Dhoni was the Indian team’s captain. “Team India follows the captain’s plan,” Tiwary said.

“He served as the captain.” The captain’s plan determines how Team India operates. It’s different for state teams, but for Team India, the captain is everything. As you can see, he was in charge of the company during Kapil Dev’s tenure, Sunil Gavaskar’s, and Mohammad Azharuddin’s. Then Dada and so forth. Until a strict administrator steps in and establishes a fixed regulation, this will continue,” Manoj Tiwary stated.

Tiwary remembered that young people were scared to ask questions because they were worried about their spots while he was with the Indian team.

“You think that Ajit Agarkar, the present top selector for the BCCI, is capable of making wise choices. He is free to disagree with the coach. Regarding my 14-match suspension after hitting a century, I would naturally like to know why a player gets dismissed after reaching that milestone. I received applause after a hundred years, but I had no clue beyond that. Kids like myself used to get scared back then. Who knows how anything would have been interpreted if you ask it? The cricket player-turned-expert stated, “My career is on the line.”

Even when they weren’t making runs, Tiwary claimed that players like Suresh Raina, Rohit, and Kohli were chosen above him.

“The team’s players at the time were Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, and Virat Kohli. They stopped running after the Tour. Despite reaching a century and winning Player of the Match, I was still unable to get a spot in the starting lineup. I was benched for 14 games over a six-month period. The dropped player did not have enough practice at the moment. I wanted to retire, but I couldn’t because of my family obligations,” Tiwary stated.