মনোজ তিওয়ারি

Manoj Tiwary is one of those fine batting talents that fell away due to injury issues coupled with the immense competition for spots in the Indian team. One glance at his domestic numbers is enough to tell you the ability that he had. Of course, statistics can be deceiving in the domestic front but there was no doubt on the ability that Manoj had. In attitude, he resembled that famous man from Bengal, Sourav Ganguly, while in batsmanship he looked upon the enigmatic Kevin Pietersen. The strokeplay and inventive nature were hard to miss with the man from Howrah also having a solid temperament.

The 2007 ODI World Cup disaster consequently saw the Indian team reluctantly opting for youth and Manoj did get the odd chance although it was baptism by fire - on a tour of Australia. Against the high profile Australian bowling attack, he found it difficult to get going and had a horror run. Still, his domestic performances kept him in the hunt and he became the automatic replacement whenever a major batsman was injured. It was only in the 2011-12 season that Manoj became a regular in the squad although getting a consistent run still continued to elude him.

It won't be wrong to say that Manoj Tiwary's biggest competitor was Rohit Sharma for a spot in the side and the Mumbaikar did get far more support even during his lean patches that were extremely long at times. And then, since 2013, there was no looking back for Rohit either. However, Manoj also didn't help his cause as he got injured several times, mostly at critical junctures. Despite his tragic Team India days, he did show a lot of composure in the IPL where he was a vital cog of the KKR batting line-up. Who can forget his nerveless cameo in the 2012 final when he smacked consecutive boundaries in the final over to clinch glory for his side?

The KXIP were quick to latch onto Manoj's services at the 2018 auctions to bolster their Indian batting strength. He continues to excel on the domestic circuit and is an experienced campaigner who is always ready for a crunch situation. A national call up now seems increasingly unlikely for the Bengal star but he doesn't seem affected by that these days. Considering his skill set which also includes his utility leg spin, Manoj is definitely a valuable addition to any side that he plays for.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan