Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra hailed Kolkata Knight Riders’ rookie batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi after they thrashed Delhi Capitals by 106 runs at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
Making his IPL debut, the 18-year-old Raghuvanshi was able to hit the ground running, smashing Anrich Nortje for two boundaries on the first two balls he faced. The flamboyant went on to score his maiden IPL fifty on debut, scoring 54 off just 27 balls with the help of five fours and three maximums.
Chopra added that Raghuvanshi reminded him of both Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill. The youngster timed the ball to perfection and showed that he belongs to the top level.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “After that, a small kid – Raghuvanshi. This player also showed that he is the identity of the new India. How times have changed – when Mayank Yadav bowls, he is also the new India’s kid, it doesn’t matter to him who is standing in front of him, whether it’s Jonny Bairstow, Cameron Green or Glenn Maxwell.”
“When you saw Raghuvanshi, he said it doesn’t make a difference to him whether it’s Anrich Nortje or Khaleel Ahmed – ‘who cares’. He was hitting from the first ball. He scored his runs at a strike rate of 200. He reminded me of both Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill,” the former India opener added.
Meanwhile, the youngster was India’s highest run-getter with 278 runs in six matches at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup in the Caribbean, which India won.
The renowned commentator added there were glimpses of Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill’s in Raghuvanshi’s batting.
“He played one Supla shot, if his picture is blurred and you are asked who played that shot, you will say Surya, but Raghuvanshi played it. Then the shots he played on his legs, I am seeing glimpses of Shubman Gill in some of his shots. Raghuvanshi was absolutely phenomenal,” he observed.
Chopra lauded Vaibhav Arora for picking three wickets in his quota of four overs and also gave a special mention to Rishabh Pant, who scored his second back to back fifty.
“Vaibhav Arora should be kept as the third performer because he bowled well, picked up three wickets. Mitchell Starc also picked up two wickets. It was a formality in the end. When you lose by more than 100 runs while chasing 272, everyone was going to get wickets, but Rishabh Pant deserves a special mention,” he said.
“Pant is back, the way he is batting. His range of hitting has also become slightly different. He is now scoring as many runs on the off-side because the bowlers try to bowl there. He has opened the face of his bat slightly to open up the off-side game. He played a no-look shot. Venkatesh Iyer bowled the most expensive over of this IPL,” Chopra observed.
KKR will next take on Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Monday.
