MS Dhoni has Revived Saurabh Tiwary's Career, feels His Childhood Coach

He was a player who was part of the ICC Under 19 World Cup alongside the likes of current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli and batsman Manish Pandey. He came to the limelight in the 2010 edition of the Premier League when he finished with 419 runs for the Mumbai Indians that season.

Along with Ambati Rayudu, the duo forged a formidable partnership for Mumbai. Following his success, Saurabh Tiwary, the man in question was handed over his national cap.

Saurabh went on to represent Indian in three ODI’s. This is the career of the talented Jharkhand batsman who has been around the circuit for a decade now.

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However, things have changed a lot in the last eight years. Meanwhile, Jharkhand has seen the rise of a leader and a player who is now a stalwart in the domestic circuit; the southpaw had represented Jharkhand in 82 first-class games and had scored 5,798 runs.

However, he hasn’t been able to replicate his performances with the bat in the IPL which has closed the doors on his India return. It must be noted the last time Saurabh played an IPL match was last year which was his only appearance that year. He managed to score a half-century. However, it came in a rather sedate manner.

However, his childhood coach, Rajiv Kumar still has faith in him. Given that he is a hard-working player his coach believes if he can improve in certain aspects he can make the cut in the national side. Despite not getting an opportunity for the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL so far, Rajiv feels MI certainly has plans for him, as they battled with Kings XI Punjab to get back his services.

During a conversation with Cricket Next, Rajiv said,

“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.

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“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 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.”

Apart from growing as a player himself, Saurabh has also started taking responsibility of mentoring youngsters. He has made sure the youngsters thrive whenever they are batting with him.

“Saurabh has got a reputation that every time he goes out to bat, he will score runs for his side. Being the senior-most, he knows his role well, and all the youngsters too look up to him. When he is batting with them, he gives them that freedom to express themselves. He just holds the fort from one end. That holds the team, and the youngsters in good stead and they can be ready for bigger challenges ahead. Despite being a senior and mentoring the players, he is still a keen learner. And that is one of the key reasons why he is performing so well domestically,” Rajiv added.

Also Read: Suresh Raina Credits Former Indian Captains for His Comeback to the National Team

The presence of MS Dhoni helps

His childhood coach also feels the presence of a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the Vijay Hazare Trophy gave confidence to Saurabh.

It was the reason why he was able to perform for his team. According to his coach, Saurabh might have picked up some positives from Dhoni’s game which might surely help him in the coming future.

“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 learnt a thing or two from him which could be beneficial for him in the future,” he signed off.