‘Big fight’ with Gautam Gambhir: Former KKR player reveals why Shah Rukh Khan’s team released him
He scored the winning runs for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when Shah Rukh Khan’s IPL team defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final. It was the first time KKR won an IPL trophy. Manoj Tiway’s stint in the team, however, did not last longer than a year after that. He blames the-then captain Gautam Gambhir for his limited stay in the team.
“I had a big fight with Gambhir during my time at KKR. There was a lot of arguing in the dressing room, which never became public. In 2012, KKR won the championship. I got the chance to play another year because I could hit fours, which helped the team win,” Anandabazar Patrika quoted Tiwary as saying during a press conference at the Kolkata Sports Journalists’ Club.
“If I hadn’t fought with Gambhir in 2013, maybe I would’ve played for another two or three years, which would have increased my contract amount and strengthened my bank balance. But, I never thought about that.”
Tiwary then spoke about the reason why his next team, Delhi Capitals, had released him.
“When I was with the Delhi Capitals, Gary Kirsten was the coach. I saw that the playing XI was not selected appropriately match after match. The right combination wasn’t there. Deserving cricketers weren’t getting the chance to play. Many were out due to injury. The team’s performance wasn’t good. I directly told them, ‘If you can’t play me, let me go.’ My contract was worth ₹2.8 crore. I never thought saying this would make them misunderstand and release me. I never worried about my loss,” he said.
Manoj Tiwary on MS Dhoni
Tiwary earlier announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Next, he apparently blamed former captain MS Dhoni for “killing his confidence”.
“Confidence is everything for a player, in any profession. Who killed that confidence?” Tiwary said. “MS Dhoni was the captain. If I get the opportunity to ask the question, I will ask him why I was dropped from the team after scoring the century, especially in that tour of Australia where nobody was scoring runs, neither Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma nor Suresh Raina.”
Manoj Tiwary stats in IPL
Manoj Tiwary played 98 matches in the IPL and scored 1,686 runs. His average is 29.07 and his strike rate 117.41.
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Published: 21 Feb 2024, 10:55 AM IST
