Manoj Tiwary, the middle-order batsman, remains positive despite again failing to find a place in the India Test squad, at least for the first two games against England. Tiwary impressed during India A’s match against England last week and through his limited international opportunities, but he said he wasn’t letting the disappointment of being left out set in and is hoping to keep pushing his case through performances in the Ranji Trophy. Tiwary got the selection news during tea on the fourth day of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan and he said that although the news bothered him, he was focused and in the right frame of mind for the next game.
“There were a lot of thoughts that came into my mind when I came to know about it,” Tiwary said. “But we’ve quite a few games coming up. I always try to motivate myself by thinking that I have a lot of time. I am young, and touch wood, things will fall in place. The big runs will come. I just have to be patient.”
Last week, Tiwary was the top-scorer for India A in a batting line-up which had at least three contenders for the No. 6 batting spot. Yuvraj Singh, who scored an aggressive 59 in that game, got the selector’s nod ahead of Suresh Raina and Tiwary.