Shashikant, the father of Kumar Kushagra, shared that Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, assured that Delhi Capitals (DC) would secure his son at any expense during the IPL 2024 auction.
Earlier this year, Kushagra was invited to the franchise’s off-season practice camp, where Ganguly, the director of cricket for DC, was greatly impressed by Kushagra’s wicketkeeping skills, drawing parallels to MS Dhoni.
Originating from Jharkhand, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman was secured by DC for ₹7.20 crore following a bidding competition with the Gujarat Titans. Shashikant, in a conversation with Indian Express, reminisced about Ganguly’s discussion with his son during the training camp.
“After the trials at Eden (Gardens), Ganguly told Kushagra that he would play for the Delhi Capitals and the franchise would bid for him till ₹10 crore,” Shashikant revealed.
“At the trials, Ganguly was impressed with his six-hitting ability and ability to play the field. His keeping skills also impressed Ganguly and even told him that there is a bit of MS Dhoni in him when he whips the bails.”
Kumar Kushagra has been in exceptional form in white-ball cricket in the past 10 months. He delivered outstanding performances in the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy earlier this year.
The young talent scored 275 runs at an impressive average of 68.75 and a strike rate of nearly 90 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the Deodhar Trophy, the right-handed batsman accumulated 227 runs with an average of 56.75 and a strike rate of 109.13.
“One can only hope for miracles, and today was one of those special days”- Shashikant
Shashikant confessed that he initially expected his son, Kumar Kushagra, to be sold at his base price of ₹20 Lakhs before the unexpected surge. The 19-year-old possesses a strong batting technique and the flexibility to bat at any position, enhancing his value as a cricketer.
“I thought he will get picked by Capitals at base price. For a few minutes, I was so numb. One can only think about miracles, and today was that kind of day. He was confident because Ganguly had promised him, but I thought he must have said this to encourage him,” Shashikant said.
Kumar Kushagra is still finding his form in T20 cricket, holding an average of only 15.55 and a strike rate of 117.64 in 11 games.
However, he made a notable debut in the Ranji Trophy during the 2021-22 season. He emerged as Jharkhand’s top run-scorer, accumulating 439 runs at an impressive average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 76.74 in four games.
During the pre-quarterfinals against Nagaland, Kushagra played a remarkable innings, scoring an impressive 266 runs with 37 boundaries and two sixes.
This achievement made him the youngest player in the history of first-class cricket to reach the milestone of 250 runs at just 17 years and 141 days.
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