Tiwary padded up for bigger battles

Dubai: If one googles Manoj Tiwary's name, it would still ask you about a well known Bhojpuri (a dialect in Bihar of Eastern India) singer with almost a similar surname rather than the young Indian batsman.

However, all that is set to change soon when the gutsy 21-year-old batsman from Bengal crosses the border with Rahul Dravid & Co to Bangladesh for the one-day series next month.

Coming in the wake of their disastrous showing in the World Cup, it's the Indian cricket board's much-talked youth policy which has paved the way for Tiwary to earn a call-up to the national team in his second domestic season.

However, nobody would really grudge him that. A total of 800 runs in the last Ranji Trophy season, which included two stellar efforts against the mighty Mumbai, made the selectors sit up and take note.

And Tiwary is only too willing to grab this opportunity with both hands. "I am thinking long term. I will try to make the most of whatever chances I get and cement my place in the team," the rookie told Gulf News from Kolkata.

Did he think the chance would come so soon? Brushing aside any undue humility, Tiwary said: "With 1,357 runs in the bag in the last calender year, I had reasons to be optimistic. While the knock in the Ranji final was quite timely, I was reasonably happy with my efforts in Deodhar Trophy and then in the recent Twenty-20 tournament, where I had averaged 44."

Plenty of promise

Even though his state Bengal lost the Ranji final to Mumbai last February, the poise and character with which this Sourav Ganguly fan batted against an attack boasting of Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar for his strokeful 94, caught the eye immediately.

Tiwary more than matched his idol and the former Indian captain, who was keeping him company, in strokes square off the wicket - and promises to carry on in the same vein in the international arena.

The Bengal top-order batsman also hit a double century against Mumbai earlier in the group stage.

"To be able to survive in international cricket, adaptability is the key. As I am basically a strokeplayer, I plan to continue in such positive vein - of course with a right balance of aggression with caution," he says.

While the Indian squad would assemble for a short camp in the first week of May, Tiwary has already begun his homework.

Aware that one of Bangladesh's strength lay in the three left-arm spinners, he has planned to put together practice sessions against bowlers of similar variety

"Since I also play in the same club as Sporting Union as Utpal Chatterjee (former Indian left-arm spinner), I plan to have some discussions with him as well," he signed off.