Saurabh Tiwary

Saurabh Sunil Tiwary, who models himself on India's Captain Cool MS Dhoni, is a Bihari by birth and was brought up in Jamshedpur. The left handed middle order batsman started taking cricket seriously at the age of 11. After making his debut for Jharkhand at the age of 14, Tiwary continued to impress the local selectors and eventually made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2006-07.

Having scored two key half centuries in India's U-19 series win against South Africa and Bangladesh, Tiwary walked in to the U-19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. Known for his consistency, Saurabh Tiwary played a handy role in the middle order on more occasions than one. He scored 3 centuries in the 2009-10 Ranji season, which was the start of his purple patch.

In 2010, Saurabh Tiwary made a name for himself by playing a vital role in helping Mumbai Indians reach the final of the tournament. Scoring 419 runs in 16 games at an average of over 29, Saurabh Tiwary was named the U-23 Player of the Tournament.

Saurabh Tiwary made his International debut against Australia in Vizag after a few senior players opted out. In the auctions that preceded the 2011 IPL, he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had a pretty ordinary tournament. He continued to play for them in the next two seasons but lack of performances forced the franchise to throw him into the auction pool for the 2014 edition where he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils.

The left-hander is a regular at the domestic circuit and continues to play all three formats for his state Jharkhand.

By Ajith Ramamurthy