Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary, who has played with the likes of Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey in the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2008, is yet to get a chance to play for the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.
He had begun his IPL career with MI in 2008, but his best season was in 2010 when he had amassed 419 runs for Mumbai Indians in 16 matches. Following his brilliant display in the IPL 2010, the left-hander got selected for Australian One Day International series, but things didn’t go right with him, and went on to play only three internationals for India.
However, Tiwary has been outstanding for Jharkhand at the Domestic circuit and even he is a very hard working cricketer, but only fitness hampered his chances both at domestic and international level.
The southpaw has played 82 first-class games in which he has scored 5,798 runs for Jharkhand, and his state Coach Rajiv Kumar still believes that the 28-year-old has the ability to pull off something special if given a chance, and is confident that the MI has certain plans for him in the mind.
Rajiv told Cricketnext, “Saurabh is a very talented batsman. When he started out with Mumbai Indians, he churned out some great performances for them. The only thing was that he was lacking a bit in his fitness. When I used to see him play, it gave an impression that he is at least going to play 50 Tests for India. That’s how I rate him. But somehow things didn’t work out. Still, there’s a lot left in him, and we can expect better things from Saurabh. What I gather is that he is putting in a lot of effort in his training with MI, and hopefully, he can do well for them in the time to come. I’m sure his franchise has certain plans for him in the mind, and that would help him.”
“Saurabh has been in great form. He had a good domestic season in all the formats and was hitting the ball well. I have a feeling that if given a chance, he will do really well. He has the ability to pull off something special. His numbers speak volumes. Apart from the batting ability, he has a mature head on his shoulders. He can handle the responsibility well, as he has been doing for Jharkhand for so long.”
Jharkhand coach also revealed that Saurabh’s confidence has bolstered with the presence of MS Dhoni during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, saying Indian great’s tips will certainly help him in the future.
Mr. Rajiv signed off by saying, “MS Dhoni’s presence changes everything. He brings a different level of energy that’s infectious. Also, he has great match awareness, so each and every player, senior or junior, get to learn a lot from him. In pressure situations, he knows how to keep calm, and keeps the team calm too. He just gets the best out of the team. So I’m sure that Saurabh too must have learned a thing or two from him which could be beneficial for him in the future.”
