Former India batter Manoj Tiwary, who recently announced his retirement from all formats of the game, has made an interesting revelation on players faking injuries to skip domestic cricket. Tiwary remarks comes after BCCI announced the central contracts for the Indian men’s cricket team. Star cricketers Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer did not find a place in the central contract list, reportedly over their non-participations in Ranji Trophy. BCCI had warned the centrally contracted players not to skip domestic games, adding that the move could lead to “sever repercussions”.
However, Kishan didn’t turn up for Jharkhand’s Ranji matches, while Iyer also skipper Mumbai’s quarterfinal tie, despite being cleared fit to play.
Kishan was seen training with Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya in Baroda, while Iyer reportedly took part in Kolkata Knight Riders’ training camp to prepare for the IPL.
Tiwary feels that while the BCCI could’ve avoided terminating the contracts, the decision has sent a clear and loud message to the other players.
“See, removing players from central contracts could have been avoided, though I don’t know what conversation they had in between. But now it is an open message to all that if players are available, they have to play domestic cricket, and that is how you have to protect this tournament. That is what I also said in my tweet. Now everyone should fall in place, not one or two individuals. The rule has to be equal for all. Many other things need to be looked at, and in time, I’ll write a letter to BCCI to highlight those areas,” said Tiwary in a conversation with Sports Now.
Tiwary suggested that young and established players have faked injuries in the past to avoid playing domestic games, and even if they feature, there conversations are mainly regarding the IPL.
“I have seen youngsters and established players speak only about IPL during domestic matches. Even in the zonal matches, when I used to play, their discussions are entirely based on IPL, and that I have seen from close quarters. The conversations, topics and issues mostly surrounded IPL only,” he added.
Tiwary feels players do prioritise IPL over domestic cricket due to the money factor.
“It is pretty natural once IPL contracts are given before the Ranji, it does affect someone – when you get 5 cr or 7 cr, players start thinking in their subconsciousness. So when a Ranji match comes, they try to avoid the last bit of effort required to dive and save a boundary that might have been crucial for the domestic team. So most of the time, those have been left alone, avoided, and that is a fact. Then they try to find a reason, maybe a niggle. Earlier, what used to happen? Players turned up for their sides even while carrying an injury, but now they are trying to sit out the game and avoid the next couple of games. So these things are happening, and it is a fact. But I do not blame the players outright; we are all equally guilty of it,” he concluded.
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