A day after being named 'Batsman of the Year' following a sterling performance in domestic cricket, Bengal's Manoj Tewari was included as 12th man in the Indian team for Thursday's first one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Confirming the development, Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Niranjan Shah said "in view of a number of injuries in the Indian team Tewari has been asked to join the team and if required he will do the fielding for the team in tomorrow's match".
"It is great honour to join the Indian team; it is a dream come true," an excited Tewari said on learning about the good news.
"It will be proud moment for me to share the dressing room with the Indian team. I will now try harder to get into the playing eleven of the Indian team," the 21-year old batsman added.
The news also evoked impromptu celebrations in Tewari's locality, in nearby Howrah town.
Tewari is a prolific scorer for Bengal this year, helping the team finish runners-up to Mumbai in the just-concluded Ranji Trophy. He was the season's leading run-getter, aggregating 796 runs from seven matches (10 innings), at a superb average of 110. He also scored a classy 94 in the final against Mumbai.
