Rahul Tewatia is the kind of street-smart cricketer a captain needs in his limited-overs squad. When sent in to slog in the centre, he can roll his arms and outfox the most skilled batsmen with his willy leg-spinners. He can even use the long-lever to good advantage. His game-changing success against Kings XI Punjab in the 2020 IPL cemented his place in IPL history.
Career
Domestic Career
Haryana’s all-rounder cricketer made his debut for his home state during the 2013–14 Ranji Trophy against Karnataka at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium on December 6, 2013. He had a quiet start to his First-Class career, scoring 17 runs in two appearances with the bat. On February 25, 2017, he made his List A debut for Haryana in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has taken 17 wickets and scored 190 runs in seven FC matches, while he has scored 484 runs in 21 List-A matches, with 91* being his highest score.
IPL Career
Rahul Tewatia won ten lakhs as a part of the Rajasthan Royals in the 2014 Indian Premier League. In 2015, the franchise in Jaipur rehired him for the same number. Two years back, Kings XI Punjab signed him for Rs. 25 lakhs, and in his debut match against KKR, he bowled a match-winning spell of 2/18. He scored 15 runs off eight balls in the same contest. Tewatia signed a three-crore deal with the Delhi Capitals after a stellar domestic season. For the next season, his pay remained unchanged. Tewatia was later traded from Delhi Capitals to Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2020 season. Tewatia had made his IPL debut with RR in 2014, so it was a bit of a homecoming for him.
Tewatia was moved up the order against Kings XI Punjab in the eighth match of IPL 2020 to have some fireworks after Steve Smith was dismissed after scoring a half-century. The left-handed Haryana cricketer, on the other hand, failed to bring bat to ball and even disrupted the Royals’ run chase against KXIP. Tewatia almost took the Royal chase to a laughable degree with some slow batting. So much so that no one could have seen RR’s return after that.Tewatia (first eight runs off 19 deliveries) had such an adverse effect on the chase that even Samson, who scored another half-century, lost focus. The runs scored in the final four overs of the game, however, were critical. Tewatia single-handedly reversed the course of the chase with five sixes from Sheldon Cottrell’s 18th over. It was an incredible effort that culminated in the highest ever run-chase in IPL history, and Tewatia had finally shined on the international stage.
Background
Rahul Tewatia was born in the village of Sihi in the Faridabad district of Haryana. Delhi is 36.8 kilometres away from the village. Tewatia represents Haryana in domestic cricket. Krishnapal Tewatia, Rahul Tewatia’s father, is a lawyer. His uncle, who was also a sportsperson, was an inspiration to him. Roger Federer, the tennis star, is also a big fan of his.