Saurabh Tiwary, upbeat over his performances in a couple of Twenty20 tourneys in Maharashtra and Ranchi recently, is now all set to let his broad willow talk in the slam-bang Indian Premier League beginning April 9.
The dashing left-handed batsman flew to Pune via Delhi on Thursday to join his team Rising Pune Supergiants. He will sweat it out at the team camp in Pune for some days before the M.S. Dhoni-led outfit leave for Mumbai by road for the IPL opener next Saturday (April 9).
"I think I'm in fine fettle. My fitness level is also very good. A couple of T20 tournaments in Tarapore (Maharashtra) and Ranchi have been helpful," Tiwary told The Telegraph over phone from New Delhi, shortly before catching a direct flight to Pune late on Thursday evening.
The 26-year-old has been part of all the editions of the IPL and had performed exceptionally well for Mumbai Indians in the 2010 edition. He had scored 419 runs in 16 matches, including three fifties, for Mumbai, which had gone all the way to the final of the season.
He also had three seasons with Royal Challengers who had purchased him for $1.6 million during the 2011 auction. Tiwary scored 487 runs in 40 matches in three seasons between 2011 and 2013.
He was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 70 lakh for IPL 2014 though he had to stay out of action due to a shoulder injury. The next season, in IPL 2015, he played seven matches to score 109 runs.
He was initially retained by Daredevils for the 2016 but was picked by the Pune outfit via window auction.
Tiwary, who recently got married to childhood friend Nikita, is looking at the IPL with a positive frame of mind. After leading Jharkhand to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals in the 2015-16 calender (he was the highest scorer with over 600 runs), the southpaw is now keen on performing for his new team.
"I will try my best to come good with the bat. Moreover, Dhoni bhaiya's presence will be inspiring. I will straightaway go into the grind with my team," the former Jharkhand Ranji skipper added.
The stylish batter, who has the ability to win a match single handedly, has been playing first class cricket for Jharkhand for some years now. An official with Tata Steel sports wing, Tiwary has played three ODIs for the country and has also turned out for the India U-19 outfit.
