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The 2024 IPL auction will see several youngsters still in their teenage go under the hammer and among the best of the lot is 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra. A gloveman born in Jharkhand has already resulted in comparisons with the legendary cricketer MS Dhoni.
Yet, Kushagra is scripting his path with exemplary performances in the domestic circuit that has franchises taking note. At a bargain base price of ₹20 Lakhs, the budding youngster could be seen as a future star and land himself a big payday on December 19.
Wicketkeepers with a sound batting technique and the capability of batting anywhere in the lineup are as rare as they come. However, Kushagra has demonstrated that ability in his still very young career.
Considering that, let us look at five interesting things about Kumar Kushagra that fans should know before the upcoming IPL auction.
#1 Kumar Kushagra was called up to the Delhi Capitals (DC) camp
A little-known fact about Kumar Kushagra is that the 19-year-old was called up by the Delhi Capitals (DC) earlier this year to their off-season camp to practice.
While Kushagra has been mighty impressive in the red-ball and List-A formats, he hasn't captured the imagination of fans in T20s. With no performance of note for Jharkhand in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), the youngster is aware of his limitations in terms of power hitting.
He spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda a few months back and said:
"As for T20s and Mushtaq Ali, for that also I have started preparing long back, but yes the execution is yet to be done and I am confident that I will execute it well."
More recently, Kushagra also talked about improving his power hitting and strength to clear boundaries even off yorkers in an interview with Sportstar.
"I have been practising over the last two years to improve my hitting," Kushagra said. "I try to look for singles as soon as I come into bat and not play too many dots, and if there is any bowler I fancy, I have the confidence to go after him and don’t wait till I am set.
"I have worked on my strength which is very important if you want to convert those yorkers into sixes. I practise with two or three types of balls, first a heavy type and then the leather cricket balls to ensure that I get the power."
With a T20 average of only 15.55 and a strike rate of 117.64 in 11 games, the 19-year-old hasn't yet set the shortest format on fire.
Nevertheless, with a solid technique, he could be used in a more consolidatory role as CSK did with Subramaniam Badrinath in the initial years of the IPL.
#2 He was the youngest member of the Indian 2020 Under-19 squad
While several members of the Indian squad from the 2020 U-19 World Cup have made their way to the senior team - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, and Ravi Bishnoi, Kumar Kushagra was part of that side.
At just 15, Kushagra was the youngest of the lot that advanced to the final and lost a thriller to Bangladesh. Thanks to the presence of Dhruv Jurel as the primary wicket-keeping option, the Jharkhand-born batter played only one game in the tournament.
Opening the batting, Kushagra scored an unbeaten 13 off 11 deliveries against Japan to help India chase a paltry target of 42, winning by 10 wickets.
Despite the limited playing time, he spoke glowingly about spending time with the coaches.
"It was a great experience at such a young age. We had coaches like Paras Mhambrey and Rahul Dravid. We had a lot to learn from them," Kushagra said to Sportstar.
Kushagra got better for the experience at such a young age, which helped him make a resounding domestic debut the following year.
#3 A memorable Ranji Trophy debut in 2021-22
Kumar Kushagra immediately took to red-ball cricket and showcased impeccable technique, tenacity, and temperament in his debut Ranji season in 2021-22.
Despite being called up for the Jharkhand squad the season before, the youngster had to miss it because of a pre-tournament camp for the 2020 U-19 World Cup. However, Kushagra made amends the following season by finishing as Jharkhand's leading run-scorer with 439 runs at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 76.74 in four games.
The 19-year-old also finished among the top 15 run-scorers, including a century and two half-centuries. While one of the 50s was in a tricky run-chase against Tamil Nadu on a turning track, his maiden century maade the season memorable for the right-handed batter.
In the pre-quarterfinals against Nagaland, Kushagra smashed an incredible 266 with 37 boundaries and two sixes. At just 17 years and 141 days, he became the youngest player in first-class cricket history to score 250, breaking the 47-year-old record of Pakistani great Javed Miandad.
#4 A 10-month period to remember in white-ball cricket
Following his heroics in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy, all eyes were on Kumar Kushagra to see if he could replicate the same in the white-ball formats. While questions may still prevail over his T20 credentials, the teenage sensation had an incredible nine to ten months in List-A cricket.
Kushagra finished the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy with sensational numbers, scoring 275 runs at an average of 68.75 and a strike rate of almost 90 to propel Jharkhand to the final eight.
Thanks to his scintillating showing, the youngster was selected to the East Zone squad for the Deodhar Trophy earlier this year. And Kushagra stood tall even in the proverbial big-boy league despite batting lower down the order.
Performing several rescue acts with the tournament star Riyan Parag, Kushagra finished with 227 runs at an average of 56.75 and a strike rate of 109.13. It included a remarkable rearguard action of 68 from 58 balls in the final against South Zone that eventually went in vain.
Nevertheless, a dream List-A run of ten months brought Kushagra well and truly onto the top of future Indian prospects.
#5 Kumar Kushagra was inspired at a young age by MS Dhoni
Mentioning that a wicket-keeper batter from Jharkhand took inspiration from MS Dhoni is like saying 2+2 = 4. And Kumar Kushagra is no different, having been inspired by the former Indian captain at just 10.
He spoke glowingly about Dhoni during the exclusive interview with Sportskeeda and said:
"Getting out of such a small state and making a name for himself in the whole world is not an easy job. And that too dominating the entire world. He did not just play cricket, he was out there and dominated on the grounds, 'Ki maarna hai toh maarna hai' (That, if I want to hit, I will hit). That was very inspiring for me."
During his illustrious international career, Dhoni led India to triumph in the 2007 T20 and 2011 ODI World Cups.
Even at 42, Captain Cool is raising the bar by leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to the IPL title earlier this year.
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