Angkrish Raghuvanshi remained unsung despite amassing 278 runs during India’s triumphant U-19 World Cup campaign in 2022. But on Wednesday, Raghuvanshi waived his anonymity in a matter of 27 balls, paving the way for Kolkata Knight Riders’ 106-run hammering of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. Coming from the Abhishek Nayar school of coaching, the 18-year-old played down his effort and thanked his “guru”, saying he has influenced him the most and dedicated his stunning 54-run knock to the former Mumbai opener.
“He has helped me in everything, the way I think about the game, the way I work towards the game, the things I eat, the way I train, he is basically my guru and everything. That’s my relationship with him,” Raghuvanshi said in his post-match press conference.
Over the last few years, Nayar has established himself as a prominent coach in domestic and franchise circuits, and most notably, played a key role even in the resurgence of seasoned campaigners like Dinesh Karthik.
Speaking about his training regime, Raghuvanshi reiterated the role played by Nayar.
“It was pretty simple, the way I have been practicing the past few weeks, the past few years with my coach Abhishek Nayar…the way he has made me practice I didn’t really have to think too much when I went out to bat.
“I just batted with my instincts and I just trusted that. What I did during practice was enough, the way he has made me practice.. he has made me face tough circumstances during practice,” he said.
India’s highest run-getter at the 2022 U-19 World Cup, Raghuvanshi was born in Delhi but moved to Mumbai when he was 11 to train under Nayar and Omkar Salvi.
Since moving to Mumbai, Nayar has been a mentor to him. He played for Mumbai in the recent Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophies.
“I would like to dedicate this knock to my coach, Abhishek Nayar and my teammates and the support staff. I have a learned a lot staying with them.
“Abhishek sir has been working with me since my childhood. All this reverse sweep and all, he made me practice a lot. So, the main man is him only,” said Raghuvanshi.
All those shots were on display when Raghuvanshi stitched together a 104-run stand with Sunil Narine as KKR posted 272/7 in their 20 overs.
Speaking about his experience in his first outing with the bat in IPL, he said, “It was fun, (ball) came on to bat pretty nicely. I think the way we have been practising for the past few weeks…gotten used to play at a good level, and basically, that’s how it helped.
“I was supposed to bat at number three in the previous match also if a wicket fell in the power play, so that’s what my role is. Everything happened very quickly. I wasn’t thinking too much.” He added, “It’s nice to get into the tournament with a fifty, but more importantly, three wins in three games (for KKR) and that’s all the entire team is thinking about. It’s not personal, it’s how we can win games for our team.”
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