Spurned by IPL, Manoj Tiwary signs up for Abahani Limited in Dhaka Premier League
Former India international cricketer and current captain of Bengal, Manoj Tiwary, is travelling to Bangladesh to be part of the Dhaka Premier League, after having been shunned by franchises in the IPL auctions. He will join Abahani Limited, a side that features yet another IPL discard, Goa wicket keeper Manvinder Bisla.
Tiwary has been in demand in all previous years of the IPL, turning out for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils. Bisla has represented KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore, most well remembered for his Man of the Match effort in the 2012 IPL final.
Abahani Limited, captained by Tamim Iqbal, and also featuring big names such as Taskin Ahmed and Litton Das, have managed to win only three out of six matches in the List-A tournament and are firmly placed in the bottom half of the standings, at 7th.
Tiwary is expected to get three matches before the DPL comes to an end, starting with Monday’s match against Kalabagan CA.
Tiwary’s tale of misfortune in terms of international cricket is well chronicled – how he impressed during the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy, breaking Bengal records and earning an India call-up, only to injure his shoulder during fielding practice before his debut. He has subsequently played 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India. His last appearance in the India jersey was during the 2015 Zimbabwe tour.
A mistimed century
His tale of misfortune has carried over to the IPL this year. He was out with an injury for the whole of January, and needed to impress franchises with an exceptional knock in the Ranji Trophy quarter finals. However, as fate would have it, he scored only 3 in the first innings of that match. He scored a gutsy 124 in the second innings, but it would be too little too late – for Bengal’s chances of progressing to the semis as well as for his chances of getting sold to an IPL team.
It was when he returned to the dressing room after this knock, his 20th FC ton, that he came to know that he had not gone under the hammer after all. Timing has rarely been Tiwary’s ally.
“I went to the dressing room and the coach told me I went unsold. That was fine with me,” he had briefly stated.
There was a controversy in Dember 2015, when players were being drafted to the two new franchises from Pune and Rajkot, when a Pune team source had revealed that Ashok Dinda and Manoj Tiwary’s help had been sought in finalising names for the Pune team. Dinda is one of the players representing Rising Pune Supergiants this year, but the Bengal skipper was left in the cold.
Can the 30-year-old’s career get a fresh lease of life in Bangladesh?