"Losing its charm and importance": Manoj Tiwary on Ranji Trophy
Feb 11, 2024
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 11 : Veteran Indian batter-turned-politician Manoj Tiwary expressed on Saturday that the prestigious Ranji Trophy should be scrapped from the next season onwards, saying that the tournament is losing its "charm and importance" despite a rich history.
Tiwary expressed his views about the current state of the tournament, saying that there are "so many things wrong" with the tournament and they need to be looked after.
"Ranji Trophy should be scrapped off the calendar from the next season onwards. So many things going wrong in 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 #RanjiTrophy," Manoj posted on X.
https://twitter.com/tiwarymanoj/status/1756298855828910476
Over the years, fans have been critical of the lack of media coverage and broadcasting of the premier first-class cricket tournament in India. Also, Ranji stars like Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal, Jalaj Saxena, etc. not being able to play a single match for India over the years despite their consistent performances has made fans and the cricket fraternity as a whole question the relevance of the tournament in the age of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest T20 league in the world, which has given India numerous superstar players since its inception in 2008.
Tiwary, who plays for West Bengal, is also one of the Ranji stars who did not have a lengthy and fulfilling career with India despite his heroics in this tournament. Ranked as the tournament's 10th-highest run-getter, he has scored 5,280 runs at an average of 41.57 in 84 matches with 12 centuries and 30 fifties. However, he only managed to play 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India from 2008-2015.
Tiwary has had a fine first-class career, scoring 10,124 runs at an average of 48.20, with the best score of 303*. He has also scored 30 centuries and 45 fifties in the format.
