Take the curious case of Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary, who are involved in an unwitting battle for a middle order slot in India’s ODI team.
Four years ago, Rohit was in the middle when Tiwary walked out to debut against Australia in Brisbane, 2008.
Last year in England, Tiwary was named Rohit’s replacement after the Mumbai batsman broke his finger.
The recently concluded series against Sri Lanka added another chapter to this duel, providing the perfect platform for a rivalry between teammates vying for the same position.
A reluctance to drop Rohit despite his repeated failures and a blooding in of Tiwary as party boy Rahul Sharma’s replacement (for the last two ODIs) ensured that the dramatis personae got at least a couple of chances to wage a battle on equal footing, in the same contest.
No prizes for guessing who came out on top!
Tiwary, 26, after warming benches across countries for an eternity made good his chance in the fourth ODI with a four-wicket haul – although his batting (21, 38b) still seemed to be suspended by shreds of self-doubt.
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