CAB felicitates Bengal cricket stalwart Manoj Tiwary as he retires from first-class cricket

Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary, who has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, was on Sunday felicitated by his state association CAB for scoring 10,000-plus first-class runs.

The 38-year-old cricketer, who had guided Bengal to the Ranji final last season before his team lost to Saurashtra, had announced his retirement last year but was persuaded to lead the side for one more year.

This season, Bengal failed to make the Ranji knock-out stage. The cricketer-turned-politician was presented with a golden bat-and-ball memento by CAB president Snehasish Ganguly as the Eden Gardens.

An emotional Tiwary said during the felicitation that his mother and his wife were the greatest motivating factors in his professional career.

"I miss my father today who passed away in 2017. My mother and my wife have been my motivation. They complete me." Tiwary also added that former India skipper Sourav Ganguly inspired him to chase the India dream. The cricketer played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India.

"Dada (Sourav) was this young fair left-hander when I first came to Eden Gardens. I thought this is really the Prince of Kolkata and I need to play like him," said Tiwary.

He also thanked teammates, seniors and CAB officials, including the late Jagmohan Dalmiya, Avishek Dalmiya and Snehasish Ganguly, during the ceremony.