Bengal-born cricket Manoj Tiwary who took as well as came out of retirement, all within 5 days in August 2023, has been fined 20% of match fees after he took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his growing frustration about the Ranji Trophy losing its essence and life and asking to scrap the tournament cryptically to the BCCI.
After Manoj Tiwary’s Tweet came to the notice of the apex board, the 38-year-old was reportedly stripped of 20% of what he made from Bengal’s previous Ranji Trophy group stage match against Bihar which they won by 204 runs a few days ago. He had openly mentioned, questioned, and also complained to some young players for their wish to prioritize the glitz and blitz of the Indian Premier League.
He also appealed to the BCCI about bringing about reforms and new ways to sustain the oldest cricketing tournament in the country. His Tweet perhaps came at a very wrong time and right after Jay Shah threatened a certain category of Indian cricketers who have snubbed the Ranji Trophy this winter despite not being injured or under any obligation to not play for their respective states.
Shah’s move was widely appreciated by former Indian cricketers as well as fans around the world with many also saying that BCCI should have taken this measure a long time ago. It is also possible that the Ajit Agarkar-led Men’s selection committee informed the board about this issue and asked them to take necessary steps forward.
“All the players will be communicated by the BCCI to play for their state team in the Ranji Trophy, as long as they are not on national duty or they are unfit and recovering from injury at NCA. The Board isn’t too happy with certain players already in IPL mode from January.” – a BCCI official told TOI.
This could also be a directive towards some nationally contracted players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer among others who have not appeared for their state teams in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season even after getting dropped for the national side. And Manoj Tiwary in his tweet, expressed his concerns about the same
“So many things going wrong”, Manoj Tiwary points out flaws of the Ranji Trophy
Now getting to the statement issued by Manoj Tiwary which eventually landed him in hot waters, had thorough respect towards the Ranji Trophy but claimed that there are so many things going wrong with the tournament, a tournament that has a long legacy and has been pivotal to Indian team’s red-ball success.
Tiwary who earned a total of 15 caps for team India also urged the BCCI to look into the matter with a cautious mindset so that Ranji doesn’t lose its charm and importance.
“Ranji Trophy should be scrapped from the calendar from the next season onwards. So many things going wrong with the tournament. So many things need to looked into in order to save this prestigious tournament which has a rich history. It’s losing its charm and importance. Absolutely frustrated.” – Manoj Tiwary wrote on X.