"There will be lobbies until some strong individual comes in" - Former cricketer's scathing statement on Indian captains amid Asia Cup 2025

Former batter Manoj Tiwary launched a scathing attack on the preferential treatment being handed out to certain individuals by Indian captains over the years. Tiwary has openly stated on several occasions that MS Dhoni preferred certain players over others during his time as captain.

Despite boasting an international career spanning eight years from 2008 to 2015, Towary played only 15 white-ball games for India across formats, with Dhoni leading the side. Yet, the former Indian captain achieved incredible success, leading the side to three ICC titles between 2007 and 2013.

When asked about the existence of favoritism between Indian captains and certain players in an interview with Inside Sport, Tiwary said (30:24):

"There will be lobbies until some strong individual comes or an in-born captain comes into the fray, like Rohit Sharma. I believe every player wants to be part of the team when he's leading the team. But that was not the case with the other captains. It's an open secret. Even Virat has had a couple of individuals who was very in close quarters."

Tiwary further detailed how lobbying for a few individuals existed even in the Virat Kohli captaincy era.

"For example, KL Rahul got an opportunity initially just because of Virat Kohli. Go back and see the stats and the number of opportunities an individual has got at his initial phase then you'll understand the closeness between a player and the captain. KL and Virat were very close friends," he stated.

"Siraj as well but Siraj has always been a performer. So even if he was not close to Virat Kohli, he would have anyway got an opportunity to play because he's such a big-hearted guy. And he respects Virat Kohli in a different way. It's not like he just wants to get in by lobbying and be part of the team to get extra opportunities when required. But I've never heard such things with Rohit Sharma," Tiwary added.

Kohli was one of India's most successful captains, winning 135 out of his 213 games across formats. He also led India to their first-ever Test series win in Australia in the 2018/19 tour.

"Surya is one of the individuals who is not going to allow this to happen" - Manoj Tiwary

Manoj Tiwary praised India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav for his ability to bring the entire team together without favoring certain players. Surya took over as India's T20I skipper after Rohit Sharma retired from the format following the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.

"I believe Surya is one of the individuals who is not going to allow this to happen. He's a fabulous leader and knows how to get everyone together. He won't just take a few players along with him and rest will be away from him. And he's got a cool head as well. We always refer MS Dhoni as Captain cool but we tend to forget how cool Suryakumar Yadav is, while leading Team India," said Tiwary (via the aforementioned source).

Surya boasts an outstanding record as India's T20I captain, winning 19 out of 24 matches. He is currently leading the side in the ongoing 2025 Asia Cup, with India winning their opening two games to advance to the Super Fours.