Kolkata: A day after retiring from cricket, Bengal star batsman Manoj Tiwari expressed concern over the IPL-centric approach of young players and advocated more focus on Ranji Trophy.
38-year-old Tiwari, who played for Bengal for almost two decades, has played 12 ODIs and three T20 matches for India. He had recently said in a post on X that Ranji Trophy should be abolished but he did not give details about it because he was an active BCCI cricketer. He was fined 20 percent of his match fee for this comment.
Manoj Tiwari said this
Regarding centrally contracted players not playing domestic cricket, Tiwari told reporters here, “I have seen that the mentality of young players is IPL-centric. Players who do not play in IPL go to Dubai or other places. “Such practices are diminishing the importance of the prestigious Ranji Trophy.” He said, “Now you may have to face restrictions for expressing your views.” “I was fined 20 percent of my match fee just because of one post.”
The Indian Cricket Board made it mandatory for players to play a minimum number of Ranji Trophy matches to be included in the IPL auction due to Ishan Kishan not playing in the Ranji Trophy. Tiwari said, “I feel that if I had not posted, perhaps BCCI would not have issued instructions. I think my post inspired the BCCI secretary to put pressure on the players.”