To say that Kumar Kushagra impressed the Director of Cricket of Delhi Capitals, Sourav Ganguly during the trials held a few months ago in Kolkata would be an understatement. Anything would be. This example: Ganguly kept a budget of ₹10 crore for the 19-year-old goalkeeper from Jharkhand. This is 50 times its original price ₹20 lakh. The former Indian captain was all set to go for Kushagra in the IPL 2024 auction. Ganguly might not have thought that he would have to keep his word to give the young lady her IPL contract with DC.
After a fierce battle with the Gujarat Titans, DC bought Kushagra for the eagle ₹7.2 million. Initially, another franchise showed interest in the youngster and that was MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. It is not the only connection between Kushagra and the great man. Kushagra plays for the same team that Dhoni plays for in cricket – Jharkhand and is also a batsman.
“He will do well if he achieves half of him (Dhoni),” Ganguly told Jio Cinema reporters when asked about Kushagra and Dhoni being in the same category.
‘Little Dhoni’ in Kushagra
The former BCCI president may have dodged the question well but he saw a bit of Dhoni at Kushagra during the practice session. Shashikhant, Kumar Kushagra’s father, revealed that Ganguly was shocked by his son’s babysitting skills. “During the test, Ganguly impressed with his six-hitting ability and fielding skills. His keeping skills also impressed Ganguly and he told him that he has a bit of MS Dhoni in him when he bowls the bails,” he told The Indian Express.
Shashikant remembered ₹10 crore promise from Ganguly but he didn’t believe. Not that DC can’t go to his son but that the unborn 19-year-old usually gets the money – Avesh Khan is the only Indian who hasn’t. ₹10 crore in IPL sales.
“After the Test at Eden (Gardens), Ganguly told Kushagra that he would play for Delhi Capitals and the franchise would ask him till. ₹10 million. I thought he would be picked by the Capitals at a low price. For a few minutes, I had symptoms. One can only imagine miracles, and today was such a day. He was confident because Ganguly had promised him, but I thought he must have said this to encourage him,” he added.
So are these impressive tactics what made DC and Ganguly interested in Kushagra? Not exactly. The then 17-year-old holds the record for being the youngest player to register 250 goals in a first-team game. He did this in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 match against Nagaland. His knock of 266 broke the previous record of Pakistan Javed Miandad. His T20 strike rate of 117.64, however, does not inspire much confidence but the youngster is the future and could be a good wicket-taker if DC wants to play Rishabh Pant as a batsman.
Like many Indian players, Kushagra was bitten by the game early on. “I have never played cricket at any level. I was just a quick follower. When he was five years old and started showing interest in cricket, I decided to teach him. A friend gave me a book called Art and Science of Cricket written by Bob Woolmer. I must have read the book four or five times. This book became my teacher and I started teaching Kushagra,” recalled Shasikant.
