IPL 2022 Auction: I've Hardly Been Getting 3-4 Hours Of Sleep, Haven’t Processed It Fully - Abhinav Manohar Sadarangani After Being Bought By Gujarat Titans

Abhinav Manohar Sadarangani, 27 has said that he has not been sleeping well, ever since he realized his dream of featuring in the Indian Premier League was realized after he was bought for INR 2.6 crores by Gujarat Titans on the second day of the IPL 2022 mega auction on Bengaluru on February 13, 2022.

The Hardik Pandya-led team overcame a fierce bidding war with Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals to secure his services as a finisher. Abhinav’s eventual contract of INR 2.6 crore (USD 346,000 approx.) was 13 times his base price.

Five years back, the Karnataka lad had appeared for trials for Mumbai Indians but returned dejected after he had “failed to bat to potential” when asked to achieve a certain target during a practice match.

I Haven’t Processed It Fully- Abhinav Manohar On Being Picked By Gujarat Titans

However, this time he not only appeared for Mumbai Indians but other teams as well in trials and was confident of getting picked in the IPL 202 auction. Interestingly, his cousin Sharanya Sadarangani currently represents the German women’s national team.

“I’ve not been sleeping well, have hardly been getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night for the past week. Just the excitement and nervousness of ‘will I get picked or will I not get picked?’,

“I guess. It’s been on my mind and [Saturday] was a bit too much. I haven’t processed it fully. I guess it will take me a couple of days. We were all watching it at home together,” Abhinav told ESPNCricinfo.

Karnataka’s Manohar came into the limelight in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy when he hit four fours and six sixes in his 49-ball 70 in pursuit of Saurashtra’s 146. He finished the SMA T20s with 162 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 150.

In the final, against Tamil Nadu, he showed the ability to rotate the strike and take the innings deep. On a sluggish pitch, he started slowly and finished the innings with 37-ball 46 that helped put up a total of 152. It nearly proved enough, but for Shahrukh Khan’s last-ball six.

“To play for Karnataka is a big thing. It can be as hard as breaking into the Indian team,” he says. “The batting line-up is full of stars, and me being a batsman, after age-group, you wonder what you’re doing.

“You think if you will get a chance, how long will it take? Luckily my parents didn’t put pressure on me to get a job. My father just said keep trying and things will fall in place. Glad it has,” he added.

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