Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary opened up about his difficult times both on and off the field in an exclusive interview with Lallantop.
He made a shocking revelation, sharing that during his teenage years, when he was facing financial struggles, he sold poori sabzi to pay off his loans.
Tiwary, who once played alongside cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, reflected on the challenging journey he endured.
Talking about his struggles in the teenage years, Tiwary revealed on Lallantop:
“Those were difficult times. One thing I always had in mind was that I had to pay off the loan. We have Mangla Haat In Kolkata, there I used to sell poori sabzi. My mom used to make the pooris. Sometimes people did not even pay for the food that they ate.
“I worked in factories of nut and bolts. This was around when I was around 14 years old. I got Rs 1200 per match when I played in U-16 level. So I did the maths and made sure I did well in cricket so that the money always comes. I ran away from the factory. It was too hectic. The factory owner used to make us work.”
Manoj Tiwary scored his maiden ODI century against West Indies in 2011, playing under the captaincy of MS Dhoni in Chennai. However, despite this performance, he found himself sidelined for several months after that match.
“He (MS Dhoni) was the captain. Team India runs according to the planning of the skipper. In state teams, things are different but in Team India its all about the captain. If you see, during Kapil Dev’s time it was he who ran the show, during Sunil Gavaskar’s tenure it was his call, same was during Mohammad Azharuddin’s tenure. After that Dada and so on. This will go on unless a strict administrator comes and makes a set rule,” Manoj Tiwary said.
“You see Ajit Agarkar (current BCCI chief selector) and you feel he can take strong decisions. He can disagree with the coach. As far as me being dropped for 14 matches after scoring a century, if a player is dropped after scoring a century, obviously I want to know the answer. After century I was praised, but post that I did not have any inkling. At that time, youngsters used to feel afraid, including me. If you ask something, who knows what way it could have been taken. Career is on the line.
“The players who were in the team then were Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma. After that the Tour which took place, they were not making runs. And here I was, even after making a century and winning Player of the Match, could not find a place in playing XI. I was dropped for 14 matches, which took place in a space of six months. At that time the dropped player did not get enough practice. I wanted to retire but due to family responsibility could not.”
