India middle-order batter and Bengal veteran Manoj Tiwary announced retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, August 3. The 37-year-old, who last played for India in 2015, was playing domestic cricket as recently as February 2023."Goodbye to the game of cricket. This game has given me everything, I mean every single thing which I had never dreamt if, starting from the times when my life was challenged by different forms of difficulties [sic]," the 37-year-old wrote on Instagram. Tiwary made his international debut in an ODI in Brisbane in 2008 but was dismissed for a duck. Eventually, he had to wait for another three years to feature for India again during a spell in which he registered his only century in international cricket, against West Indies in Chennai. After being left out of the ODI team in 2012, Tiwary represented India on just four more occasions that included a series in Zimbabwe in 2015. In all he played 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for the national side.
Tiwary, the minister of state for Youth Affairs and Sports in West Bengal, has constantly featured for his state despite being out of national reckoning and recently captained them in their run to the Ranji Trophy final. In a glittering first-class career, the right-hander ended up smashing 29 centuries at an average of 48.56, finishing with over 9900 runs. This included a best score of 303*, scored against Hyderabad in January 2022.Tiwary also played 98 games in the IPL, hitting the winning runs for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2012 final against Chennai Super Kings. One of his best seasons in the IPL came in 2017 when he played a role in Rising Pune Supergiant reaching the final but post that season, he played just five more matches in the competition. Despite his impressive performances in domestic cricket, Tiwary's international career was marked by sporadic appearances and periods of being overlooked. Tiwary thanked his wife and his former teammates for their support throughout his career and made a special tribute to his coach Manabendra Ghosh."Manabendra Ghosh, my father figure like coach has been the pillar in the cricketing journey. If he had not been there then I would have not reached anywhere in the cricketing circle. Thank you Sir and wish you a speedy recovery, as your health is not keeping well. Thank you to my Dad and Mom, they both never put pressure on me to focus on my studies rather they encouraged me to continue in cricket. Big thank you to my wife, @roy_susmita7 who has always been on my side from the time she came into my life," he added. Despite these setbacks, Tiwary's domestic cricket career has been marked by longevity and consistent performances. He has been a leading run-scorer for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic first-class cricket championship. In the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 366 runs in nine matches. He also scored his fifth double-century in first-class cricket in November 2018 and his maiden triple-century in January 2020.
