Who is Abhinav Sadarangani? - All you need to know about Gujarat Titans' INR 2.6 crore recruit in IPL mega auction

Abhinav Sadarangani was one of the unexpected names that caused a bidding war among the franchises during the ongoing IPL 2022 mega auction. The newcomer had set his base price for INR 20 lakh and went on to be picked up for a whopping 2.6 crore by the Gujarat Titans after an intense battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. While many wondered about the bidding for him, the 27-year-old was certainly on the radar for franchises.

Sadarangani made his T20 debut for his state Karnataka in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 season and impressed straightaway in the few games he played. The right-hander hit 162 runs in four games at an average of 54 and his match-winning innings of an unbeaten 70 in the preliminary quarterfinals certainly interested a lot of franchises. He made his List A debut subsequently and managed 34 runs in the one outing he had with bat. He is also a leg-spin option which is an added luxury for the franchises.

Abhinav Sadarangani’s Numbers in Domestic Cricket

Sadarangani can definitely handle pressure looking at the few innings he has played and he fits into the middle-order batter role, which has had a greater demand in IPL especially. He also top-scored for Karnataka in the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Tamil Nadu with a brisk 46 in 37 balls, which included four fours and two sixes. He has played in the Karnataka Premier League way back in 2015 for the Bijapur Bulls and this will be his first stint in IPL.

A lot of new faces from the domestic tournaments have gone on to make a big impact in the IPL and Chetan Sakariya was one of the examples who made it to the Indians side with his excellent performances last year for the Rajasthan Royals in his debut season in IPL. Karnataka has been one of the consistent sides in the domestic tournament with excellent quality in their squad and this has led to a lot of franchises being interested in their players.

Handling pressures have had a different value in IPL always, and Sadarangani will have a big test coming up in the IPL 2022 season. He has joined the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, Jason Roy and Lockie Ferguson in the Gujarat Titans squads so far.

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