Ex-India Star, Who Suggested Ranji Trophy To Be 'Scrapped', Now Says This

A day after his retirement from cricket, Bengal star Manoj Tiwary raised concerns over the IPL-centric approach of young cricketers and strongly advocated for greater emphasis on Ranji Trophy. The 38-year-old Tiwary, who served Bengal for about two decades and represented India in 12 ODIs and three T20Is, had recently posted on X that Ranji Trophy should be "scrapped" but did not elaborate on the subject as he was an active BCCI cricketer. He was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for that remark.

He also had a Facebook live in the midst of the match where he said he would come out in the open after taking retirement.

"I can observe that young players have adopted an IPL-centric mindset," Tiwary said, referring to central contracted players opting out of playing domestic cricket.

"Those who don't play IPL often go to Dubai or other places whenever they find some free time. However, this trend is diminishing the significance of the prestigious Ranji Trophy.

"Now, expressing any opinion might lead to a ban. I have already been penalised with a 20 percent reduction in my match fee for just one post." 

Ishan Kishan's reluctance to play first-class cricket and focus only on the IPL forced the BCCI to make a minimum number of Ranji Trophy games mandatory for players in order to be eligible for the cash-rich league's lucrative auction pool.

"In hindsight, I feel that the directive issued by the BCCI might not have been given had I not posted it on X. Perhaps my post prompted the BCCI secretary to put the players under pressure now.

"The seriousness they have shown by taking this step in the crucial stage of the Ranji Trophy indicates their concern that many players, especially high-profile ones who have succeeded in the IPL