Saurabh Tiwary sets out to simplify life for Jharkhand cricketers as association secretary

Saurabh Tiwary, the former India batter and current secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association, told The Hindu at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur on October 16, 2026 that he intends to make cricketers' lives easier. He took over the association's secretary post last year.

Tiwary, once described as one of the hardest-hitters of his time, said, "I won’t even be in the top 100 when it comes to hitting ability," during the interview. He played three One-Day Internationals for India and was a notable presence in the early years of the Indian Premier League. In First Class cricket he amassed more than 8,000 runs, including 22 hundreds and 34 fifties, at an average of more than 47. His long mane, likened to M.S. Dhoni's, drew as much attention as his six-hitting.

His playing career ended a couple of years ago, after which he moved into administration. "When you have played cricket for 24 years, you know what a cricketer needs, and I have been trying to help the players from Jharkhand," he said. "I believe a cricket association comes up from cricketers; it is not a case of cricketers coming up from associations. So I ensure our players are given all the opportunities; since we don’t have facilities, our players, male or female, are free to use the Ranchi stadium whenever they want."

Tiwary commented on the evolution of batting in the modern game, saying, "cricket has become almost a game of power-hitting." He added, "Every second batter is hitting so well. Even a 15-year-old boy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, is dominating the IPL today." "Not just T20s, but One-Dayers as well," he said. "People are getting double hundreds in 43 or 44 overs."

He described his administrative ambitions in terms of trophies and team success. "I have won the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but never the Ranji Trophy or the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy," he said. "I want Jharkhand to win those tournaments."

Tiwary also recalled being part of India's Under-19 World Cup-winning side in 2008 in Malaysia, alongside Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Abhinav Mukund and Manish Pandey. "It was a dream come true, of course, but I was run out in the final (against South Africa)," he said. "I remember Kohli used to play with the same hunger. "If he bats tomorrow, he will play with the same passion. He plays his cricket with so much passion and honesty. Even then he had so much focus and dedication".

As Jharkhand's secretary, Tiwary has set winning the Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as explicit objectives for the state, framing those targets as central to his plans to expand opportunities and facilities for Jharkhand cricketers.