Manoj Tiwary has reversed his decision just five days after declaring his retirement from all forms of cricket on social media, claiming that the initial choice had been “emotional” and that he will “come out of retirement and play for Bengal for one more year.”
At a news conference on Tuesday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Tiwary, who was seated alongside Cricket Association of Bengal president Snehasish Ganguly, remarked, “Raj da [Ganguly] urged me to continue playing [in the Ranji Trophy] for one more year and I should go while on the pitch. So I gave it some thought. I talked to my wife, and she also persuaded me.
She recalled that I served as captain when Bengal advanced to the Ranji Trophy final the previous year. After Raj da finished speaking to me, I gave it some thought and decided to return. Many of my fans wrote to me and urged me to change my mind.
The announcement of the retirement had been made without a valid explanation, according to Tiwary, who also claimed that he “had gone blank” at the time.
“The cause was… I go through phases where my brain goes blank and I make rash decisions. Some of you might be able to relate to this because you are emotional as well. I did also,” Tiwary, a West Bengal state minister, added. Then I understood that I had made a mistake. I am therefore returning to the workforce for one final year.
“Cricket in Bengal has given me everything, so I want to give Bengal one more year and one more chance. There won’t be a U-turn when I make the news the following year. I admit that my choice was a touch selfish. It was a feeling-based choice. However, I came to see that it was not a team choice.
For the 2023–24 season, Tiwary, who hasn’t appeared in a Bengal white-ball game since November 2022, confirmed that he will only be available for first-class games.
He has played 141 first-class matches so far, and with 9908 runs at an average of 48.56 and 29 centuries and 45 half-centuries, he is just 92 runs shy of 10,000 runs in the format. Between 2008 and 2015, he participated in 12 ODIs and three T20Is abroad.
