West Bengal Sports Minister shortlisted for IPL mega auction

KOLKATA: Former India cricketer and current West Bengal Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Manoj Tiwary has been shortlisted for the Indian Premier League's (IPL) final auction list. Manoj Tiwary, who has played 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India, has been listed at the base price of Rs 50 lakh. Tiwary has scored 287 runs in ODIs, including a century and a half-century.

36-year-old Tiwary had won the Bengal Assembly elections last year as a Trinamool candidate from the Shibpur constituency. Tiwary won the election by defeating Rathin Chakraborty of the BJP. He later became the Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare in Bengal.

Tiwary last played in the IPL in 2018. He was then acquired by the Punjab Kings for Rs 1 crore. Although Tiwary was shortlisted for the 2020 IPL auction, he went unsold as no franchise showed interest in him.