Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Kamlesh Lachham Nagarkoti is an Indian cricketer, who plays for Rajasthan in the domestic circuit. Born on 28 December 1999 in Barmer, Rajasthan, he is a right-arm fast bowler with a right-handed batting style. He can bowl at a speed of more than 140 kph and can bowl for long spells too.

Nagarkoti came through the ranks of the victorious Indian Under-19 cricket team that won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018. He is among the upcoming fast bowlers in India and can execute his role as an all-rounder too whenever needed.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti: Along the Years

Kamlesh Nagarkoti Records

• Took the first-ever hat-trick for Rajasthan in List-A cricket

Kamlesh Nagarkoti Career

With roots in Uttarakhand, Kamlesh Nagarkoti was spotted in a Jaipur maidan by coach Surendra Rathore, who encouraged him to join the academy. Nagarkoti went on to progress quickly and developed sharp inswinger and reverse-swing bowling skills that helped him constantly bowl batters.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti Domestic Career

In the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy, on 26 February 2017, Kamlesh Nagarkoti made his List-A cricket debut for Rajasthan against Mumbai. In this match, he took one wicket and remained unbeaten on 21 runs. Two days after his debut in List A matches, Nagarkoti took the first-ever hat-trick for Rajasthan in List A cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Gujarat.

The 24-year-old pacer made his first-class (FC) debut for Rajasthan against Uttarakhand in Thiruvananthapuram in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season. He picked up a couple of wickets in each innings.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti IPL Career

Riding high on the success of the U-19 World Cup win, Kamlesh Nagarkoti was snaffled up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the IPL auction in February 2018, for a whopping sum of INR 3.2 (USD 500,000 approx.) crores. However, a fractured foot took him out of his maiden IPL and later, a recurring back injury paused his career for 19 months. KKR persisted with him for two seasons and the rising star was expected to show his true potential for the franchise in the 2020 season.

Nagarkoti made his IPL debut against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi. He went wicketless in his maiden encounter. In the next game against Rajasthan Royals, he picked up a couple of wickets in the form of opener Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag. He played only a solitary game in IPL 2021 and was released ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.

The Rajasthani pacer was acquired by the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2022 mega auction and played a solitary game in that season. He was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to a lower-back stress fracture. Ahead of IPL 2024, the Capitals released him.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti Under-19 Career

Kamlesh Nagarkoti took 14 wickets in two youth Tests against England Under-19 and earned his place in India's Under-19 squad for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018. He burst onto the scene during India U-19's opening match against Australia U-19, where he took 3 wickets and bowled at a consistent pace above 145 kph with a peak pace of 149 kph.

India U-19 won the U-19 Cricket World Cup in the finals by playing against Australia U-19 again. In the final match held on February 3., Nagarkoti took two wickets and dismissed Australia’s U-19 captain Jason Sangha to seal the match for the Indian batters as the colts won the match and the tournament by 8 wickets.

Rahul Dravid was so much impressed with the raw pace that he personally monitored him and included him in the U-23 team for the Asia Cup.