5 interesting facts about KKR's Angkrish Raghuvanshi who scored a quickfire 54 in debut innings in IPL 2024
Angkrish Raghuvanshi stole the limelight in his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday against Delhi Capitals.
Coming in at No.3, Raghuvanshi played with a positive intent to slam 54 off 27 balls, with five fours and three sixes. His quickfire contributions paved the way for the KKR to post a mammoth total of 272 and win by 106 runs.
In this process, he became the second-fastest batter (25 balls) to hit a fifty in his debut IPL innings after James Hopes (24). Since then, he has been touted as the bright prospect for the Indian team.
On that note, let's take a look at the five interesting points about the young KKR batter.
5 interesting facts about KKR's Angkrish Raghuvanshi
1) Angkrish Raghuvanshi was India's highest run-scorer in U19 World Cup 2022
The talented batter emerged as the finest Indian batter in the U19 World Cup 2022 with 278 runs in six innings at an average of 46.33, while scoring one century and a fifty. His efforts certainly played a key role in taking the Indian team to the finals and eventually winning the title.
Raghuvanshi's best knock of 144 off 120 against Uganda to help the team post 405 and win by a whopping 326 runs.
2) Uncle has played for Mumbai
Raghuvanshi's mother, Mallika used to play basketball, while father Avneet plied his trade in Tennis.
His uncle, Sahil Kukreja played 52 first-class matches for Mumbai and scored over 3,000 runs at an average of 38.80, with seven centuries. Kukreja was also part of Punjab Kings setup in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
3) Trained under KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar
In recent years, former Indian batter Abhishek Nayar has made his name as a prominent coach. Specifically, he helped Dinesh Karthik to stage a dramatic comeback in 2022.
In Raghuvanshi's context, the young batter shifted his base from Delhi to Mumbai at an age of 11 and stayed with his uncle. Then, he began training under Nayar and current head coach, Omkar Salvi. Interestingly, Nayar is currently the assistant coach of KKR.
4) Made List-A and T20 debut for Mumbai in 2023
The 18-year-old made his T20 debut for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Haryana in October 2023. Opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal, he scored 26 off 24 balls, before getting dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal.
In the following month, Raghuvanshi featured in his maiden List-A game in the Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Sikkim. Chasing 90, the youngster provided a good start to the side, scoring 30 off 28, with four fours.
5) Emerged as Mumbai's highest run-getter in Col. CK Nayudu Trophy 2023-24
Ahead of the IPL 2024 season, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was sensational in the Col. CK Nayudu Trophy 2023-24. He top-scored for Mumbai, accumulating 765 runs in nine games, at a prolific average of 63.75, with three centuries and two fifties.
Raghuvanshi's efforts led Mumbai to the semi-finals of the esteemed tournament; however, Uttar Pradesh won the game on the basis of first-innings lead.