Abhinav Sadarangani, the 27-year-old uncapped and relatively unknown batter, was purchased by the Gujarat Titans for INR 2.6 CR during a busy opening day of the IPL 2022 auction on Saturday.
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Sadarangani only made his senior debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy three months ago, and after a number of strong performances, attracted the attention of the new IPL franchise in the mega auction.
Known better as Abhinav Manohar in Karnataka cricket circles, he gained attention with his stints in the Karnataka Premier League [KPL] T20 tournament. His KPL debut came back in 2014, and he’s been a regular feature in the tournament since. He’s also played at different age-levels for Karnataka, starting with the U-13 levels back in 2008.
Making his T20 debut for Karnataka, the right-hander impressed as his side finished runners-up in the SMAT Trophy. On his debut, he hit an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls batting at No.5 to help seal a two-wicket win and he finished the tournament with 162 runs in four innings at an average of 54 and impressive strike rate of 150.
He then went on to play a couple of List-A games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December, batting once and hitting a 32-ball 34 against Tamil Nadu.
In an interview with Sportskeeda in November, Manohar spoke of his hope that his performances in the Syed Mushtaq trophy would be enough to earn him his first IPL contract, having previously trialed with Mumbai Indians a number of years ago.
“I hope I’ve done well enough to have people notice my talent and my skill to play at that level,” he said. “So I’m hoping I get picked in the auction, I have my fingers crossed.
“Around 3-4 years back I was called by the Mumbai Indians for a trial, but it wasn’t a great one, I didn’t do too well… But this year, I hope I’ve done well enough in the Mushtaq Ali tournament, that should help me get picked up at the IPL auction.”
Good to see Abhinav Manohar being picked by Gujarat Titans. He is a good finisher. Had a fantastic Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 – scored 70 (49) on debut v Saurashtra #IPL2022MegaAuction
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) February 12, 2022
Abhinav Manohar will be playing for Gujarat – he was in great touch for Karnataka in SMAT.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 12, 2022
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