1 week Ago
This isn't the first time Tiwary has had strong words to say about the Punjab franchise, with whom he has a well-documented history. Allegations arise of favouritism, as former Indian batter Manjo Tiwary echoed his beliefs on the ‘lack of confidence’ Punjab Kings’ coaching staff seem to have in their Indian batters — a trait which leads him to believe that PBKS will not win the IPL this season. In the match against KKR, Punjab Kings had a strong start with openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya scoring 83 and 69 runs respectively.
However, after their dismissals, the team management chose to send in foreign players Glenn Maxwell and Marco Jansen, both of whom failed to make significant contributions. This decision meant that in-form Indian batsmen Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh did not get an opportunity to bat, despite their impressive performances in the tournament. After this, Tiwary called out the coaching staff, led by Ricky Ponting, for favoring out-of-form overseas players, hence denying the young local talent their deserved opportunities.
“My gut feeling says that Punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season," Tiwary started on his post on X. “Because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal Wadhera and Shasank Singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver..
. “But they couldn’t, and clearly showed a lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persists in this way, then the title is far from them, irrespective of their qualification in the top two," Tiwary lamented.
This isn’t the first time Tiwary has had strong words to say about the Punjab franchise, with whom he has a well-documented history. The Indian batter’s association with PBKS was brief and concluded on a disappointing note. While there was no direct fallout between Tiwary and Punjab Kings, his limited opportunities in the 2018 season and subsequent exclusion from the team led to public expressions of disappointment.
Following the 2018 season, Tiwary was not retained by Punjab Kings and went unsold in all the auctions thereafter, therefore drawing the curtains on his IPL career. Beyond the IPL, Tiwary has been active in domestic cricket and transitioned into politics, serving as a Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and as Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports in the West Bengal government. .
