Saurabh Tiwary, the left-handed batter, has decided to retire from playing cricket professionally. He made this decision after Jharkhand’s last league match in the Ranji Trophy against Rajasthan in Jamshedpur on February 16.
Tiwary, who has been playing cricket for 17 years, led Jharkhand and also played three ODIs for India. Additionally, he represented four IPL teams during his career.
During a press conference at the JSCA office in Keenan stadium, Tiwary announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after the Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan. He mentioned that it’s the right time for him to step back from the game and give opportunities to young players, even though he feels he still has cricket left in him.
“I believe if you don’t make it to the national team or IPL, it’s best to make room for talented youngsters,” Tiwary expressed during the conference.
When asked about his future plans, Tiwary initially mentioned an interest in politics as a platform to give back to Jharkhand. However, he later clarified that he intends to stay connected to cricket and not enter politics.
He highlighted the abundance of talent in Jharkhand but stressed the need for better facilities to help young players compete with those from other states.
In his cricket career, Tiwary played three ODIs for India, scoring 49 runs. He also scored 8,030 runs in 115 First-Class matches with an average of 47.51, including 22 centuries and 34 half-centuries.
In the IPL, he scored 1,494 runs in 93 matches with an average of 28.73 and a strike rate of 120. Overall, he accumulated 3,454 T20 runs in 181 matches with 16 half-centuries and an average of 29.02.
During the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Tiwary played four matches for Jharkhand, which is not in contention for the knockout stages.
Tiwary started his cricket journey at the age of 11 and made his First-Class debut during the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy season. He was also part of the Indian U-19 World Cup-winning team led by Virat Kohli in 2008.
As a captain, Tiwary led Jharkhand 88 times across different formats, winning 36, losing 33, and drawing 19 matches.
In List A cricket, Tiwary scored 4,050 runs in 116 games with 27 half-centuries and six centuries at an average of 46.55. His last IPL appearance was for Mumbai Indians in 2021.