When all the focus is on teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, another youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi has remained under the radar, turning up with impactful knocks for his franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders. The 21-year-old at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, scored a 44-ball 82 not out that helped KKR seal a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans and keep their playoff hopes alive.
He was instrumental in driving KKR post a massive total of 247, by playing some entertaining shots during his knock. This season he has donned the wicketkeeping gloves for KKR and has done well there too. Raghuvanshi has scored 422 runs in 12 games so far at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 146.53.
Former India batter and IPL legend Ambati Rayudu is really impressed by the progress that Raghuvanshi has made over the years. “I think his batsmanship is getting better. He has just become more confident, and we have seen him really develop into a batsman who can play in all phases. That is very, very unique. And also, his six-hitting has improved, if you look at it. Even though it’s mostly against, you know, balls that are fuller, but I’m sure he will improve his six-hitting against other lengths,” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut.
Rayudu said as a player Raghuvanshi’s graph is rising and predicts in couple of years he will turn out to be a proper match-winner.
“He is looking like a player whose graph is just rising, and he looks to be someone who, in a couple of years’ time, will be a proper match-winner. I mean, a world-class match-winner, so this guy has tremendous potential, and he has a lot of time, like how Sanjay Bhai (Sanjay Bangar) mentioned. He has a lot of time against pace. He doesn’t look like he’s hurried. So that’s a great sign for a young batsman,” Rayudu added.
However, both Rayudu and Bangar also had a word of advice for him. They feel he should not rely too much on unorthodox shots because he is already very strong while playing proper cricketing shots.
His team-mate at KKR, Finn Allen called Raghuvanshi an incredible player, who is continuing to expand his game.
“Starboy. He is an incredible player, and he is continuing to expand his game. He has a great base and can play some unbelievable shots. For someone so young to be relied on so heavily by the team just shows how good he is. It is really exciting for the franchise to have someone so young performing so consistently, and it is probably great for Indian cricket as well. I cannot speak highly enough of him — he is a really good kid,” Allen said.
