Our hero turns crorepati

The dingy two-room Railway quarter of Telkalghat in Howrah still reminds Manoj Tiwary of the days of struggle, tears, undying self-belief, and the first groggy steps towards stardom. You can also call it Bengal cricket's first fairytale.

The dingy two-room Railway quarter of Telkalghat in Howrah still reminds Manoj Tiwary of the days of struggle, tears, undying self-belief, and the first groggy steps towards stardom. You can also call it Bengal cricket's first fairytale.

Only till the other day Manoj used to board a bus early in the morning from Howrah and travel for one-and-a-half hours to practice under coach Manabendra Ghosh in Behala. For Manoj, it all began 12 years ago when his elder brother Rajkumar took his kid brother to Ghosh at the Dukhiram Coaching Centre to train under him.

It was not as if Ghosh saw something special in Manoj straightaway. What impressed the coach most was the kid's commitment. "I have many hard-working trainees, but Manoj's devotion to the game was stood out. It was his steely determination that set him apart from the others," Ghosh recalled.

According to his coach as well as his family members, Manoj relished fighting against the odds. "He knew he had to make a career out of cricket to ensure a decent living for his family. May be that's the reason why he was always ready to put in those extra hours after a gruelling session," Ghosh said.

Manoj had his priorities right and never lost his focus. Even a freak shoulder injury during training which set his international career back by a year, didn't upset him.

Against all odds, he fought his way back and reclaimed his spot in the ODI side. His lucrative IPL contract will go a long way in solving his financial problems. "Yes, he has his own car now, he has started looking for a plot of land to build his own house. But even when I was talking to him on Wednesday after he had bagged the IPL contract, I found him more keen on winning his place back in the XI than going ga-ga over the Rs 2.7 crore bid on him," the coach summed up.

Source: TNN / Dwaipayan Datta