Manoj Tiwary, the former Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) batter and current Sports Minister of Bengal, raised a valid question over the absence of Bengal players in the KKR franchise, and revealed that he revealed that he will raise the issue with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
He also lashed out at the KKR for not promoting young players from Bengal in the IPL. The Sports Minister was miffed about the fact that Bengal players, including Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammad Shami, have been regularly featuring in the playing XI of the other teams in the IPL, but KKR is ignoring the local talent.
Tiwary, who played for KKR between 2010 and 2013, wants to see a change in culture for KKR, saying Bengal players should be given a regular chance to play for the team in the IPL. He believes that the local talent should feature in KKR’s playing XI. He will discuss the matter with the Bengal CM and ask her to talk to one of the KKR owners, Shah Rukh Khan.
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Manoj Tiwary said on Sports Tak: “Certainly I would like to see a change. I always say that there should be a lot of players (from Bengal in KKR). The IPL had started with a focus on Indian players. It was about providing Indian players with a platform to showcase their talents. There was even a rule that local players have to be there in franchises, there have to be a certain number of U19 players and U23 players. When I had good relations with KKR I was asked a few times to suggest some good local players and I had given those suggestions as well.”
He continued, “But then slowly these rules started to go away and now you can see that local players are seen less with a certain franchise and instead you see them playing for other teams. So my only question is that if Bengal players can play for those other teams regularly in the playing eleven, why can't they play here. So that question mark is always there on the management. They never talk openly also. They stay silent and this question mark always remains on them.”
The 36-year-old mentioned that having local stars in the KKR’s playing XI would inspire the young fans to take up the sport in Bengal. He added, “Local players inspire kids in the stadium. That is someone from our state team playing for the local franchise. They get motivated by that and that emotion stays. Fans would want to support their local players. They will always support their team but when they see that there is a local player in the squad, they will take that emotion with them.
However, cricket is in such a place where grounds are always full whether there are local players or not. That is an advantage that the owners have, they can say there is no compulsion to take local players, the stadiums are full anyhow. But I feel that rule should be brought back. Wins and losses will keep happening but local players serve a bigger purpose.”
Tiwary concluded, “I wouldn't like to raise this issue now that I have come into administration. Instead, I will take a very simple route. I will ask our honorable chief minister Mamata Banerjee to speak with Shahrukh Khan. He is West Bengal's brand ambassador. We'll see what happens after that.”
(With Sports Tak Inputs)
