‘Bit of Dhoni’: Ganguly Promised Kumar Kushagra Father To Keep Him in DC Bid Even For Rs. 10 Crore

Ganguly Promised Kumar Kushagra’s Father To Keep Him in DC Bid Even For Rs. 10 Crore: On Tuesday when IPL Auction 2024 was held in Dubai, Delhi Capitals bought Kumar Kushagra for Rs. 7.2 Crore from Gujarat Titans.

He is the batter from Jharkhand, and he is just 19 years old but Ganguly kept the budget of Rs. 10 crore, which is 50 times higher than the base price of Rs. 20 Lakh.

In a recent interview with Indian Express, Kumar Kushgra’s gather Shashikant quoted that former Indian Captain Sourav was impressed by his son at the trials for Delhi Capitals and promised that DC would get him at any cost.

“At the trials, Ganguly was impressed with his six-hitting ability and ability to play the field. His keeping skills also impressed Ganguly and even told him that there is a bit of MS Dhoni in him when he whips the bails,” 

“After the trials at Eden (Gardens), Ganguly told Kushagra that he would play for the Delhi Capitals and the franchise would bid for him till Rs 10 crore.

At the trials, Ganguly was impressed with his six-hitting ability and ability to play the field. His keeping skills also impressed Ganguly and even told him that there is a bit of MS Dhoni in him when he whips the bails,”

Even Shashikant said that 19-year-old Kumar Kushagra did not expect so much money, he just thought he would go for just a base price of Rs. 20 Lakh.

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“I thought he would get picked by Capitals at base price. For a few minutes, I was so numb. One can only think about miracles, and today was that kind of day. He was confident because Ganguly had promised him, but I thought he must have said this to encourage him,”

Initially, at the time of the Auction, even Chennai Super Kings showed interest in Kumar Kushagra. Even Ganguly told to broadcasters of Jio cinema that,

“He will do well if he achieves half of him (Dhoni).”

Kushagra is the best player and in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal clash against Nagaland, Kushagra (then 17) scored 266 runs. And he also beat the record of Pakistan legend Javed Miandad.

Shashikant also said by recalling that,

“I had never played cricket at any level. I was just a keen follower. When he was five and started showing interest in cricket, I decided that I would coach him.

A colleague suggested a book named Art and Science of Cricket by Bob Woolmer. I must have read that book at least four or five times. That book became my coach and I started training Kushagra.”

Coming to the strike rate of Kushagra’s T20 is 117.64.