Manoj Tiwary is widely regarded as one of the giants of Indian domestic cricket. The former Bengal skipper returned from all forms of cricket last year.

During his professional career spanning nearly 20 years, Tiwary represented India in 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is while he didn’t get a chance to play Test cricket.

Playing his sixth ODI, the right-hander scored a match-winning 104* against the West Indies in December 2011 in Chennai. But he was dropped from the team and did not feature in the next 14 games.

Recently, Manoj Tiwary took a swipe at former captain MS Dhoni with an 'injustice' remark and acknowledged the role that Virender Sehwag played in his career.

Tiwary credited Sehwag for his solitary ton in international cricket. Just before the Chennai ODI, Sehwag had slammed a career-best 219 against the West Indies in Indore. However, he decided to rest himself in the next match to pave the way for Tiwary’s inclusion in the playing XI.

"I've got backing from Virender Sehwag. I've always said that Viru paaji is one of the individuals who has really backed me. In fact, the century that has come in the West Indies game where I got Man of the Match. He's the one who sacrificed his place, and he took rest before the game. And everyone knows that in that series, where Sehwag scored a double-hundred. So he would have loved to continue and score more runs. But he's such a good human being that he was observing my career in the Indian team for so many years. So he must have felt a little injustice was happening to me," Tiwary told CricTracker.

"And I felt that when he got the opportunity to rest himself and make a place for me in the playing 11, and not only make a part of the Playing XI, but also to give me my batting position, which was at number four. Initially, when I told him, when he asked me in the bus 'Which number you want to bat?' So before that, I was not playing. So I said, 'Viru paji, playing for India is a big thing and an honour for me. Wherever you ask me to bat, I will bat there.' But he said, 'No, you tell me, where have you batted so many your First-Class cricket?' So I said at number 4. So he said, 'Yeah, that's your number. You will go at 4.'"

"And he conveyed the message to [Gautam] Gambhir who led in his absence in that particular game. So he conveyed that Manoj should bat at number 4. And that is the reason you see that 100 which happened. And it was all God's plan, basically, through him, which happened. So he always backed me. I've always been in debt to him till the time I'm breathing," Tiwary added.

Manoj Tiwary's century came under the most dramatic of circumstances. Batting first, India were reduced to 1/2, but he forged crucial partnerships with Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli to take the team to 267/6 in 50 overs.

After completing his century, Tiwary had to be retired hurt as cramps cut short his knock on 104.