Kumar Kushagra

Hailing from Bokaro, Jharkhand, Kumar Kushagra was a studious student until middle school. He is an Indian domestic cricketer who plays as a right-handed wicketkeeper-batter. 

Cricket soon took over academics as the young prodigy got selected for the Jharkhand Under-16 side at the age of 12.

Coming from the land that gave the world MS Dhoni, Kushagra followed a similar trajectory, idolising the legendary India gloveman and emulating him.

His father, Shrikant Kushagra, a district commissioner in the GST department, helped his son improve his technique by building a library of cricket-based books in his home.

In 2019, he was the highest run-scorer in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. His run tally read 535, which proved impressive enough for him to make it to the India U-19 squad for World Cup 2020, where he played only one match.

Kushagra made his List-A debut in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2020-21. In the same year, he went on to play his first T20 match in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021.

In his debut Ranji Trophy season in 2022, Kushagra made headlines by becoming the youngest batter to score 250 or more runs in a First-Class innings. He achieved the feat in the match versus Nagaland. He scored a total of 439 runs in seven innings in the tournament.

In the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022, he registered three fifties and two 40-plus scores in the five games he played in the season. His domination continued in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23, where he amassed 429 runs in 13 innings.

He was the second-highest run-getter for the East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy 2023. He hammered 227 runs, including three half-centuries, which included a 98-run knock. 

Although his form deteriorated in VHT 2023, he made a great impact at the beginning of the competition. He finished a 356 run-chase versus Maharashtra with his 36-ball 67. 

This knock spiked his interest among the IPL franchises ahead of the 2024 auction, where he caused a bidding war and was eventually roped in by Delhi Capitals for INR 7.2 crore.

Kushagra made his India A debut in the third unofficial Test of the series against England A in February 2024. 

He blasted his second First-Class ton in the Ranji Trophy 2024 against the Services. In the Ranji Trophy season 2023-24, the right-handed batter garnered 333 runs in 8 innings, with an average of 47.57, getting into form before the marquee event. 

(As of March 2024)