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Saurav Chauhan received his maiden IPL cap from Dinesh Karthik before Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) away match against Rajasthan Royals (RR). The left-handed batter will make his debut tonight, and he has replaced Anuj Rawat in the playing XI of RCB.
Not many fans would know that Saurav Chauhan remained unsold in the first round of the previous IPL Auction, but then just before the auction ended, Royal Challengers Bengaluru specially requested his name to be brought back. RCB later signed him at his base price of ₹20 lakh.
Before Saurav impresses the fans with his explosive batting in IPL, here's a list of five things that the cricket universe must know about him.
#1 Saurav Chauhan was born in Ahmedabad
While Saurav will make his debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru tonight, his hometown is Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He plays for Gujarat at the domestic level.
Saurav did his schooling at the GLS campus (and he was in the same batch as this author). He bats left-handed and aims to attack the bowlers straightaway.
#2 Saurav Chauhan's father worked at the stadium in Navrangpura
Saurav's connection with cricket started at a very young age. The current RCB batter's father worked at the stadium in Navrangpura area of Ahmedabad. This venue has hosted a few IPL games in the past.
Now, Saurav is all set to play for RCB against RR in Jaipur. If he performs well and retains his place in the team, he can play against Gujarat Titans on April 28 at the world's largest stadium in Ahmedabad.
#3 Saurav Chauhan scored a half-century off 13 balls for Gujarat
Chauhan came into the limelight last year when he hit a half-century off just 13 deliveries for Gujarat in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh. The match was held on October 16, 2023 in Ranchi.
Gujarat's bowlers did a fine job to restrict Arunachal Pradesh to 126/8 in 20 overs. Chasing a target of 127, Gujarat lost two wickets in the first 13 balls. Saurav came out to bat at number four and whacked 61 runs from just 18 deliveries. He showed no mercy to the Arunachal Pradesh bowlers as he hit five fours and six sixes.
#4 A coincidence between Saurav Chauhan and Sanju Samson
Saurav is all set to make his IPL debut tonight for RCB against the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals. Interestingly, the left-handed batter made his T20 debut for Gujarat against the Kerala team, which was also led by Samson.
In that game, Saurav opened the batting for Gujarat and scored 50 runs off 40 balls to help his team beat Kerala by nine wickets. RCB fans will expect another match-winning performance from Saurav against a team led by Sanju Samson tonight.
#5 Saurav Chauhan has a strike rate of more than 100 in List-A cricket and a 150+ strike in T20s
RCB captain Faf du Plessis showered enormous praise on Saurav while speaking at the toss in Jaipur earlier tonight. One of the big reasons behind it is Saurav's strike rate.
The left-handed batter from Gujarat has a strike rate of 116.95 in List-A cricket, while his strike rate in T20s is 152.13. He plays with a lot of intent, and if he gets going, it could be a nightmare for the RR bowlers.
