West Bengal: Manoj Tiwary has reversed his decision just five days after declaring his retirement from all forms of cricket on social media, claiming that the initial decision had been "emotional" and that he will "come out of retirement and play for Bengal for one more year."

At a press conference on Tuesday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Tiwary, who was seated alongside Cricket Association of Bengal president Snehasish Ganguly, remarked, "Raj da [Ganguly] convinced me to continue playing [in the Ranji Trophy] for one more year and I should leave while on the field. So I thought about it. I spoke to my wife, and she convinced me too.”

"She reminded me that I was the captain when Bengal reached the Ranji Trophy final last year. And then Raj da spoke to me, I thought about it and decided to come back. A lot of fans also wrote to me and asked me to reconsider my decision."

Also Read: Fawad Alam Bids Farewell to International Cricket After 15-Year Career

There was no proper reason for the retirement announcement, Tiwary said, adding that it had been made when he "had gone blank".

“The reason was… I am an emotional person - some of you might be able to relate to this - a phase comes when things go blank, and people make decisions in haste. I did too," Tiwary, also a state-level minister in West Bengal, said. "Then I realised that it was a mistake. So I am coming out of retirement for one last year."

Also Read: Asia Cup and ODI Series against Australia-The 2 deciders for World Cup Squad

"Bengal cricket has given me everything, so I want to give Bengal one more year, I want to give Bengal one more try. When I make the announcement next year, there won't be a U-turn. I was a little selfish in making the decision. It was an emotional decision. But I realised that it was not a collective [for the team] decision."

For the 2023–24 season, Tiwary, who hasn't appeared in a Bengal white-ball game since November 2022, confirmed that he would only be available for first-class games.

He has played 141 first-class matches so far, and with 9908 runs at an average of 48.56 and 29 centuries and 45 half-centuries, he is just 92 runs shy of 10,000 runs in the format. Between 2008 and 2015, he participated in 12 ODIs and three T20Is abroad.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav Joins Rohit and Kohli in Exclusive Century of Sixes Club