A young struggling cricketer aspiring to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) has died by suicide in Mumbai. Failure to win a place in the IPL or even find mention in Mumbai’s Ranji probables drove Karan Tiwari to despair and he took the extreme step of ending his life Tuesday night.
According to a report by Mirror, his elder brother Avinash Tiwari told the paper that Karan was visibly glum after failing to impress IPL’s Delhi franchise, apparently during a selection trial before the lockdown.
“The spark had gone out of his life,” Avinash said. “He would shut himself in his room and barely speak.”
The 27-year-old medium-pacer, whose bowling action bore a striking resemblance to that of South Africa’s bowling legend Dale Steyn, was a net bowler for Mumbai’s Ranji net sessions.
Information obtained late on Tuesday evening revealed that Karan Tiwary, who used to bowl at the Mumbai Ranji team’s nets, took the extreme step.
According to Mumbai team sources, Tiwary was a fit cricketer and had moulded his action on Dale Steyn’s. He would come to the Mumbai nets regularly and would be willing to bowl for hours. He bowled at the nets for close to two years. Tiwary was 28.
His brother recapped the night of the incident according to the Mirror, “My brother didn’t drop a hint to our mother [Hemlata Tiwari] that he was about to do something drastic. They had dinner together, he helped her finish the usual chores in the kitchen, and soaked nuts in water to have the next day before leaving for practice. I wish I knew what thoughts consumed him when he went into his room. Ten minutes before he ended his life, he messaged his friends saying he became a laughing stock and had let his family down. He shared a picture of the rope he had planned to hang himself with. One of the friends he messaged stays in Udaipur. He instantly alerted the family. By the time we broke into his room, he was gone. No one cared when he was struggling to make his mark.”