“Branding Wasim Jaffer communal is shocking” – Manoj Tiwary 

Manoj Tiwary is among the prominent Indian cricketers who have jumped to the defence of Wasim Jaffer after allegations of communalising the Uttarakhand dressing room were slapped against him. Tiwary called the allegations 'shocking’ and explained the tweet he sent to the Uttarakhand chief minister about Jaffer's situation.

Wasim Jaffer’s abrupt resignation as head coach of Uttarakhand days before the Vijay Hazare Trophy left many in the cricketing fraternity scratching their heads.

The Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) secretary Mahim Verma and team manager Navneet Mishra have alleged that the former Indian cricketer was creating a religious divide in the dressing room by showing a preference for Muslim players in the state team.

The allegations were denied outright by Wasim Jaffer as he cited the selection of non-deserving players as the reason for resignation.

Manoj Tiwary has never shied away from voicing his opinions on such issues. Speaking to journalist Indranil Basu on SK Live, the Indian cricketer said:

“As a citizen of India and as an individual, I believe I should voice my opinion on specific issues. What has happened to Wasim-bhai (Wasim Jaffer) is very unfortunate. To brand him communal is shocking. I share a good relationship with him, and we all respect him so much."

“He would never do such a thing like backing players from the same community. It’s painful to see someone of his stature coming out and having to explain all these," added Tiwary.

Manoj Tiwary explains the rationale behind his tweet to Uttarakhand CM on the Wasim Jaffer issue

Manoj Tiwary took to Twitter to urge Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to intervene and take necessary action on the Wasim Jaffer issue. Tiwary explained why he sent the tweet, saying:

“I tweeted because I thought it’s important for the top of the state to intervene. Until that happens, the association will find its way out.”

“Wasim Jaffer is a national hero, and he shouldn’t face what he has. And if someone isn’t a national hero, no individual should suffer this. There should be an inquiry to find out what really happened,” explained Manoj Tiwary, who has represented India between 2008 and 2015.

I would request the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (BJP) Mr.Trivendra Singh Rawat 2 intervene immediately nd take note of the issue in which our National hero Wasim bhai was branded as communal in the Cricket Association nd take necessary action.Time 2 Set an example #WasimJaffer pic.twitter.com/ZPcusxuo7v

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) February 11, 2021

After announcing his retirement in early 2020, Wasim Jaffer took up the head coach role with Uttarakhand in March. Among several other coaching roles, he is the batting coach of Kings XI Punjab and also has a position with the Bangladesh Cricket Academy. Jaffer has been credited for the success of the country’s World Cup-winning U-19 side.

You can check out the full interview with Manoj Tiwary below: