Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary has revealed that the state's senior selectors didn’t consult him while picking the 16-member squad for the first Ranji Trophy match. Bengal are slated to face Himachal Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy opener at Amtar from November 1.

Speaking to TOI, Tiwary said: "I was not consulted by any of the selectors. The coach read out the names to me over phone."

Tiwary further asserted he was stunned to know that the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has put him and coach Sairaj Bahutule on notice for the first the first two matches.

"Nobody from the CAB told me this. I am hearing this from the media. Only months back I was named the skipper for the entire season. Now what went wrong that they had to take such a decision that too without even communicating it to me?" Manoj asked.

He admitted that Bengal's performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy was not up to the mark but that does not mean only the captain and coach are at fault.

When asked that some of the Bengal players have expressed their unhappiness with the dressing room environment, Tiwary said, "Both Sairaj and I talk to the players individually. I do this because I missed such communication during the initial part of my playing days. I know how important it is to talk to the players and I make it a point to come out of my comfort zone to keep communication channels open at all times."

The 32-year-old also went on to say that he was also not consulted when the selectors had named the probable’s list for the season.

"I always try to guide youngsters about how to go about their job. Accordingly, I had advised a few players before the start of the season. But they have lost faith on me as their names were missing from the probables' list. I feel all my efforts to build a team have gone down the drain," Tiwary remarked.

The Bengal captain also said he had a fair idea about the person who is creating all these chaos within the team.

"I won't name him. He is not a cricketer but this person is spreading misinformation which is creating distrust in the side. He is like a cancer and if he is not eliminated now, the whole team will collapse soon," Manoj Tiwary concluded.

Bengal Squad:

Manoj Tiwary (skipper), Sudip Chatterjee (vice-capt), Anushtup Majumdar, Shreevats Goswami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Abhishek Raman, Koushik Ghosh, Mukesh Kumar, Ashok Dinda, B Amit, Ishan Porel, Pradipta Pramanik, Aamir Gani, Prayash Roy Burman, Saurabh Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed.

(With TOI inputs)