He is yet to feature in domestic cricket.
When Izaz Sawariya began posting cricket reels on Instagram two years back, he wouldn’t have thought that it would lead to the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. This is exactly what happened for the 20-year-old leg-spinner from Bidar, Izaz. His casual online reels, captured in practice nets in Jaipur, have helped him land in the IPL 2026 auction to be held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (December 16).
Izaz Sawariya started posting videos on his Instagram handle in 2017 when he joined Vijay Cricket Club in Karnataka as a seamer before switching to leg-spin. After struggling to break into age-group cricket, he moved to Rajasthan in 2022 (following the COVID-19 pandemic). He trained under coach Surendra Singh Rathore, who has previously coached India U19 World Cup winner Kamlesh Nagarkoti, at Sanskar Cricket Academy, while staying in paying-guest accommodation. However, when Izaz was not finding a place to showcase his talent, it led him to show off his skills online to keep motivating himself.
“I was part of the district setup, but didn’t get any opportunities. That made me think differently. I never thought it would come this far. I started posting one reel every day after practice. Eventually, England’s veteran spinner Adil Rashid started commenting on my videos and complimented my skills,” Sawariya told ESPNcricinfo.
Izaz Sawariya currently has 22.2K followers on his official Instagram handle. His daily routine looks like – training sessions, workout, and late-night content edits. However, his dream remains simple: to represent the country and buy a new home for his family with his own earnings.
Now, with several international players, including Adil Rashid and Tabraiz Shamsi, already appreciating the guy for his skills and getting shortlisted for IPL 2026 auction, he has taken a huge step towards his goal. Additionally, Delhi Capitals star Vipraj Nigam has also liked and commented on his reels before.
Those reels displayed his bowling prowess, exceptional control, and sharp turning leg-spin and googlies, which soon grabbed the eyeballs of IPL franchise scouts. The five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) reached out to him first, and Sunil Joshi, former spin-bowling coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS), was impressed with his potential. Eventually, PBKS invited him to their trials in Lucknow. And this marked a breakthrough moment for someone with little major domestic cricket experience.
“Chennai Super Kings contacted me. A scout called me,” Izaz said. “Sunil Joshi sir, saw my reel, and then Punjab Kings called me for trials in Lucknow. They liked me, and after document verification, they filled out my form for the IPL auction. I might be the first player to go from social media to the IPL auction. It feels good to know that others are now inspired to post their own videos too.”
Even just entering the bidding would create a memorable story for a player making the cut purely based on social media buzz and without any prior domestic experience.
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The 20-year-old Izaz Sawariya has been listed in the uncapped spinner set USP4 at a base price of INR 30 lakhs at the IPL 2026 auction.
PBKS could emerge as a potential buyer after being impressed at trials. They recommend including him in the auction. The IPL 2025 runner-ups are also looking for a backup spinner for veteran Yuzvendra Chahal after releasing Pravin Dubey before the IPL 2026 auction.
CSK has retained Shreyas Gopal before the IPL 2026 auction, even though they did not give him a game last season. However, the departures of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, and Rachin Ravindra have left a big gap in the spin department. As a result, they will seek another spinner to back up their frontline options, Noor Ahmed and Gopal.
Another team that might be interested in Izaz Sawariya is the Rajasthan Royals. In IPL 2025, their spinners – Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Kumar Kartikeya – struggled with control, consistency, and taking wickets. It can be evident from the stats: The RR spinners took the fewest wickets (65) and had the second-highest economy rate of 9.96. Therefore, bringing in an unknown player like Izaz Sawariya could add some unpredictability, which may benefit them in IPL 2026.
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