Angkrish Raghuvanshi may still be 21 years old, but he has already been showing the composure of an experienced T20 batter. At Eden Gardens on Saturday night, the right-hander struck a quickfire 82 not out off 44 balls, guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to a 29-run victory over Gujarat Titans and keeping their faint playoff chances in the hunt.
Ambati Rayudu, a former India batter, has been watching Raghuvanshi closely during his stint in the KKR batting unit. Speaking during ESPNcricinfo TimeOut, Rayudu said the Mumbai batter’s game has continued to improve through his third season with the franchise, emphasising that the growth has been visible across different phases of innings. “I feel his batting is getting better. He has become more confident, and we’ve seen him develop into a player who can bat through all phases. That’s really, really rare. And his ability to clear the ropes has also improved. Even if it’s often coming against fuller deliveries, I’m confident he’ll keep getting better at hitting sixes against other lengths too,” Rayudu remarked.
This campaign, Raghuvanshi—who also handles wicketkeeping duties for the Kolkata-based side—has compiled 422 runs in 12 matches. His current average stands at 42.20, with a strike rate of 146.53, underlining both consistency and impact. There is also a noteworthy milestone attached to his progress: he has become only the fourth player in IPL history to record five or more half-centuries before reaching the age of 22. On that list, he finds himself in the company of big names such as Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Rayudu went further in his assessment, describing Raghuvanshi’s trajectory as one that keeps rising. “He looks like a player whose curve is only going up. In a couple of years, he should turn into a genuine match-winner—like a world-class match-winner. He has tremendous potential, and he has time, as Sanjay Bhai [Sanjay Bangar] also said. He has a lot of time against pace, and he doesn’t seem rushed while playing. That’s a great sign for a young batter,” Rayudu added.
While praising the talent, Rayudu—along with Sanjay Bangar—also offered a word of caution. They do not want Raghuvanshi to lean too heavily into unconventional shot-making, particularly because he already has the ability to play cleanly with the straight bat. Rayudu pointed out that Raghuvanshi has shown he can be effective with those riskier strokes when the moment demands it.
One such example came in the 6th over, when Raghuvanshi dispatched a Kagiso Rabada delivery that arrived outside off-stump, smashing it over fine leg for a six. He repeated the idea in the 19th over bowled by Mohammed Siraj, again going for a scoop to reach the same outcome. Later in that same over, he reversed-swat the ball between the wicketkeeper and short third to bring up a four.
