Manoj Tiwary questions India's selection choices and Dhoni as mentor

Former India batsman and West Bengal minister Manoj Tiwary used back-to-back interviews this week to question recent selection decisions, revive grievances about his own short international career and voice scepticism over a fresh Board of Control for Cricket in India offer to MS Dhoni to act as a mentor across formats. Speaking to CricTracker and to news agency ANI, Tiwary touched on workload management of frontline players, Virat Kohli's Test retirement, the emergence of Shubman Gill as a leader and longstanding disputes over who did or did not back his playing opportunities for India.

Tiwary criticized India team management for the handling of Jasprit Bumrah during the England Test series, saying it was wrong to pick a bowler known to be available for only part of a five-Test tour. "If a player is not fit for a five-Test series, when you know beforehand, then obviously you will not pick that individual," he told CricTracker. He added that public indications that Bumrah would play only three Tests handed the opposition advance knowledge that could be used to plan accordingly.

On Kohli, Tiwary said the batter had retired from Test cricket prematurely and that he expected Kohli...