Saurabh Tiwary to retire from professional cricket

Left-handed batter Saurabh Tiwary on Monday decided to retire from professional cricket after Jharkhand's final league match of the Ranji Trophy against Rajasthan from February 16.

In a career spanning 17 years, Tiwary represented Jharkhand and played three ODIs for India and turned up for four IPL franchises.

Announcing his retirement from all formats of the game following the Ranji match versus Rajasthan, 34-year-old Tiwary said it was appropriate time for him to take the decision as he wanted to give space for the youngsters even though he still has cricket in him.

"I think, if you are unable to make in the national team or IPL, it is best time to leave space for talented youngsters," Tiwary said at a press conference at JSCA office situated at Keenan stadium premises here.

Asked about his future plans, Tiwary said, "I have got everything from Jharkhand and politics is the appropriate platform to give back to the state." However, he later said that he is not joining politics and he would want to remain associated with cricket.

He also said that Jharkhand has plenty of talent but the youngsters would need adequate facilities to compete with other states.

Tiwary scored 49 runs in the three ODIs that he played for the country in 2010. He amassed 8030 runs in 189 innings at an average of 47.51 including 22 hundreds and 34 fifties in 115 first-class matches.

He also scored 1494 runs at an average of 28.73 and a strike rate of 120 in 93 IPL matches. In total, he racked up 3454 T20 runs with 16 fifties at an average of 29.02 and strike rate of 122.17 in 181 matches.

In the ongoing Ranji season, Tiwary has played four games for Jharkhand, who are out of contention for the knockout stage.

Tiwary, whose cricketing career began as an 11-year-old, earned his first-class debut in the 2006-07 Ranji Trophy season. He was part of India U-19 World Cup winning team led by former India skipper Virat Kohli in 2008.

He has also led Jharkhand 88 time across formats, winning 36, losing 33 and drawing 19. In his List A career, Tiwary scored 4050 runs in 116 games with 27 fifties and six hundreds at an average of 46.55. He last played IPL as part of Mumbai Indians in 2021.