IPL 2022 Auction: 3 reasons why Saurabh Tiwary might not find a new team
Saurabh Tiwary and the Indian Premier League (IPL) have had a love-hate relationship over the years and it will be on test again at the IPL 2022 auction. Once the tournament's emerging player awardee in 2010, Tiwary was released by Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction.
MI is where it all began for Tiwary, of course, having been picked up ahead of the inaugural season in 2008. Tiwary has also represented India in three ODI games in 2010 but thereafter has struggled to feature as a regular in the IPL too.
Will Saurabh Tiwary fetch bids at the IPL 2022 Auction?
The question is a tricky one considering the plethora of options there will be at the franchises' disposal. That said, a few factors go against Saurabh Tiwary's quest to earn an IPL contract for the new season.
Here are three reasons why Saurabh Tiwary might just not land a deal at the IPL 2022 Auction:
#1 The age factor
Saurabh Tiwary has an abundance of experience and has played enough T20 cricket over the years. That said, a mega auction is one where teams look to rebuild their rosters, keeping the long run in mind.
While Tiwary recently turned 32 and still has a lot of years left in him, the fact that he isn't a long-term option could go against him. Franchises could well look at younger blood and draft them in keeping a long-term vision in mind.
Thus, unless there is a dire need for a middle-order batter, Tiwary may go unsold at the IPL 2022 Auction.
#2 Lack of interest from teams over the years
The level of interest in Tiwary over the years in the IPL tells an intriguing story. Since 2017, Tiwary's name has come up for bidding on four occasions and on three of those, it was MI who picked him up at base price. He was unsold in one of those auctions though ahead of the 2019 season.
Clearly, teams have moved on from Tiwary as an option and he has been an afterthought at MI too. This time around, there is a chance that MI may also look at a younger core and build a team for the longer run yet again.
To that end, the trend of Tiwary remaining out of the minds of IPL teams could well continue into the IPL 2022 Auction as well.
#3 Tiwary isn't multi-skilled
Saurabh Tiwary comes as a specialist batter alone, without offering a secondary skillset. Of course, he isn't the first such player in that regard but that's where the age factor could come into the picture again.
Tiwary has done well whenever he has got a chance in the XI for Mumbai Indians. That said, it has been a fair few years since he was last a sure starter in the first XI in the tournament. The lack of a secondary skillset makes it harder for him to force his way back into the reckoning in today's era.
So even among specialist batters and left-handers, teams may look elsewhere, with Nitish Rana and Ishan Kishan providing long-term options. This could result in Tiwary going unsold at the IPL 2022 Auction.