Kumar Kushagra is an Indian cricketer who attracted attention when Delhi Capitals selected him for Rs. 7.2 Crore fetched at IPL 2024 Dubai Auction.
Wiki/Biography
Kumar Kushagra was born on Saturday, October 23, 2004 in Bokaro Ram Nagar, Jharkhand (age 19; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Libra. He attended Loyola School in Jamshedpur. She is pursuing Bachelor of Arts from Kolhan University, Jamshedpur. When he was 2-3 years old, his father took him to a sports academy. Although he was unable to officially enroll due to his age, his father motivated him to observe and learn from the behavior of other players.
When Kumar Kushagra started playing cricket
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Hair color: black
Eye color: gray
family
Parents and siblings
Kushagra’s father, named Shashikant, served as district commissioner in the GST department.
Kumar Khushgra’s father
His mother’s name is Pushpa Devi and she is a housewife.
Kumar Khushgra’s mother
He has a younger brother Kalash and a younger sister Sara.
Kumar Kushagla and his family
Profession
She has yet to make her international debut. He started playing cricket at the Bokaro Cricket Coaching Academy and trained at a nearby hotel. In the 2014-15 season, he became a member of the Bokaro District U-14 team. At the age of 12, his life took a major turn as he was selected for the Jharkhand Under-16 team. From then on, cricket became his main interest. He achieved notable achievements in cricket with the 2016 Vinoo Mankad Trophy. In 2019, Kushagla caught the attention of the Indian U19 selectors for his outstanding performance in the U19 Venu Mankad Trophy. Although Jharkhand failed to reach the final, he became the highest scorer in the tournament with 535 points in 7 games. He was selected in the Indian team for the 2020 U-19 World Cup.
Kumar Kushagra keeps goalkeeping during World Cup
At just 15 years old, Kushagla was the youngest player to reach the final, but they narrowly lost to Bangladesh. He played a key role against Japan, scoring an unbeaten 13 off 11 deliveries, helping India chase down the target of 42 runs and win by 10 wickets. He made his debut in the A-League Cricket on 20 February 2021, representing Jharkhand in the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He made his debut in Twenty20 cricket on November 4, 2021, representing Jharkhand in the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. During the tournament, he played six matches for Jharkhand and scored 111 points. He made his first-class cricket debut on February 24, 2022, representing Jharkhand in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy. Despite being named in the Jharkhand squad last season, he had to sit out due to his participation in the pre-tournament training camp for the U-19 World Cup 2020. At the age of 17, he scored a remarkable double century in the 2022 Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Nagaland. The achievement made him the youngest batsman to score 250 or more runs in a first-class innings, surpassing the long-standing record set by Javed Miandad. In the 2022 Deodhar Trophy, Kushagla scored a total of 227 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 109.13, becoming the sixth-highest run-scorer. Although East lost to South, he played a key role in the final, scoring a half-century for East. It was during this match that he first came to know about Delhi Capitals’ interest in him. The commentator conveyed the message of team director Sourav Ganguly. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24, he showcased his skills as a top-order batsman, scoring 275 and 164 runs respectively. Delhi Capitals picked him for Rs 100 Cr in the IPL 2024 auction held in Dubai. 7.2 Crores.
Kumar Khushgra is selected by Delhi Capitals
Facts/Trivia
- His jersey number is #1 (India).
- His domestic team is Jharkhand.
- He is a right-handed batsman.
- Initially, he played as a batsman. But after observing MS Dhoni and taking an interest in his unique wicketkeeping skills, he decided to incorporate it into a game. This choice led him to pursue goalkeeping as a career.
- In middle school, he was a good student who concentrated on his studies.
- When he was a child, an important part of his training routine was training with his father. His father applied coaching principles from the famous book The Art and Science of Cricket written by the legendary Bob Woolmer.
- In an interview, he mentioned that they have limited practice time. The training sessions in the evenings from 3 to 6 were so busy that he didn’t get enough batting practice. So, his father started waking him up at 5 a.m. and practiced until 7 a.m. before he went to school.
- Although his father had no formal cricket training, he guided Kushagla by reading cricket books. His father’s collection included not only Bob Woolmer’s books, but also NCA books that provided technical guidance on hitting technique. His father spoke about the incident in an interview and said:
Everything written by the greats, whether it was Lewis or Bradman or Waugh, I got it in some way. I would go online and watch people, try to figure out the techniques, and then come back and read about it in books. I have a list of at least 60-70 lenses and techniques. Every day, I would have Kumar practice one of these. “
- The state association refused to release him from the team as the domestic season was about to begin. It was then that Ganguly got in touch with the youngster directly. In an interview, he spoke about this and said:
Mr. Sourav called me personally. He said Delhi Capitals were looking for me to join their squad. He appreciated my performance over the past two years and wanted to watch me play. I attended a training camp in Gurgaon and did well in one of the trials. I played in another camp in Bangalore and scored over 60 runs in 25 balls. In Kolkata, I scored 60-plus again, this time off 23 balls. “
- Immediately after being selected by Delhi Capitals, he called his mother and both were moved to tears. In an interview, he discussed the auction and said:
I was alone in the room. I ended the practice early, went straight back to my room, took out my phone, and started paying attention to the auction. That’s because the TV in my room didn’t work. My name is number 55. The moment it was time to announce, they took a break. I didn’t eat anything and it must have been around 6:30 in the evening. I am angry! But then, my name finally came up. The bidding started for Chennai Super Kings with a bid of INR 60 Lakhs. I started getting a lot of calls in a row. I think I got at least 15 calls. I was watching the auctions on my phone so I kept ignoring them and the stream kept pausing. I couldn’t follow it properly; the next thing I saw, the bid was 720 million rupees. “
- As of 2023, Kushagla has played 11 T20 matches, scoring 140 runs with a strike rate of 117.64.
- He has been compared to Indian cricketer MS Dhoni and is known for his outstanding contribution to Indian cricket.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education