IPL 2024 Auction: Delhi Capitals has bought uncapped wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra for Rs 7.2 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans showed a lot of interest in buying 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Kushagra from Jharkhand. There is also an interesting story behind buying Kumar, let us tell you.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Delhi Capitals bought uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Kushagra for Rs 7.20 crore. Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly was determined that he would include Kushagra in Delhi Capitals only. Ganguly had seen a glimpse of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Kushgra and that is why he was ready to pay any price for Kushgra. Kumar Kushagra has impressed with both his batting and wicketkeeping in domestic cricket and he got to see the results of this in the IPL 2024 auction.
Kushagra’s father told Indian Express, ‘Sourav Ganguly was very impressed after watching Kushagra’s trials. He had said then that if needed, Delhi Capitals would bid up to Rs 10 crore for Kushgra. Ganguly was very impressed after seeing Kushagra’s wicketkeeping skills, so much so that he even said that he could see a glimpse of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Kushagra.
Kushagra had scored 266 runs in 269 balls against Nagaland in the Ranji Trophy 2022. His hitting power is quite strong. His celebration after this memorable inning also went viral. Kushagra celebrated that happiness uniquely by shooting an arrow from the bat. Batting at number seven in the final of Deodhar Trophy 2023, Kushagra played an innings of 68 runs in 58 balls. There is no match to the way Kushagra can turn the match in the last overs while batting at number 7.
Kumar Kushagra is the wicketkeeper of Jharkhand. Talking about wicketkeepers from Jharkhand, Dhoni, and Ishan Kishan are also from this state. Kushagra is only 19 years old and IPL can prove to be a great stage for him.
Bidding war in Gujarat and Delhi
Sourav Ganguly’s promise was fulfilled on 19 December. There was a bidding war between Delhi and Gujarat Titans to rope in Kumar Kushagra. The 19-year-old wicketkeeper was bought for Rs 7 crore 20 lakh. Shashikant said, “I thought that Capitals would sign him at the base price. I was stunned for a few minutes. It would seem like a miracle to anyone. Today was also a similar day. He was confident because Ganguly had promised him, But I thought he might have said that to encourage him.”
Javed Miandad’s record broken at the age of 17
Kushagra was part of the Indian team in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. He played only one match. Kushagra scored 266 runs in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal match against Nagaland. He was only 17 years old then. In that innings, he broke the 46-year-old record of Pakistan legend Javed Miandad. Became the youngest batsman to score more than 250.
Father gave training in the beginning
Kushagra’s coaching started at home under the supervision of his father, who works in the Income Tax Department. The father said, “I never played cricket at any level. I’m just a fan. When he was five years old and he started showing interest in cricket, I decided that I would train him. A colleague suggested a book called The Art and Science of Cricket by Bob Woolmer. I must have read that book at least four or five times. That book became my coach and I started training Kushagra.”
Kushagra’s T20 strike rate is 117.64
Kushagra’s T20 strike rate is 117.64. A strike of 117 is nothing special in T20 cricket. Even after this, Delhi saw a bidding war for him. He played a good innings against Maharashtra in the BCCI white-ball tournament. Then Jharkhand had achieved the target of 355 runs. Kushagra had scored 67 runs in 37 balls.
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