“Amount ko maine side mein rakh diya hai, abhi sirf apne game pe focus karna hai (I am not focussing too much on the bid amount, time to focus on the game),” says Delhi Capitals’ new recruit Kumar Kushagra who made headlines during the IPL 2024 auction where he got a bid of Rs 7.2 crore.
Kushagra’s journey started when he was only 2-3 years old. He was too young to even hold a cricket bat properly, but his father used to make him sit in cricket academies to ‘just observe’.
“When I was 2-3, my father used to take me to academies. Of course, I couldn’t get enrolled then because I was very young but he used to ask me to observe what the other players were doing,” says Kushagra in an exclusive chat with CricketNext.
His training got a proper routine when Kushagra started going to school and his father would ensure an hour-long session for him from 5:30 in the morning. With no coaching knowledge and expertise, Kushagra’s father Shashikant read books on cricket coaching to be ready with the right lessons.
“Then during my school days, I used to get up at around 5:30 in the morning, had my practice drills for one hour and then I used to go school. It was my father with whom I used to practice and that was the time that turned out to be very beneficial for me. He used to read some books on coaching and then gave me the cricketing lessons,” recalls Kushagra.
The Dhoni touch
It’s impossible for a Jharkhand cricketer’s journey to not have a MS Dhoni mention and Kushagra’s is no different. He started off as a batter initially but it was MS Dhoni and his unique wicket-keeping technique that inspired him to don the big gloves.
“Initially, I used to be a batter. But when I first saw MS Dhoni, I thought his wicket-keeping technique was pretty unique and different. So, during one of the games, I thought I can follow this technique and then picked it (wicket-keeping) up professionally,” reveals Kushagra.
Over the years, IPL has seen these young cricketers line up in front of their idols for a little masterclass at the end of every game. Kushagra can’t wait for his opportunity and the 19-year-old is ready with his list of questions for the likes of Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“It would be a great opportunity for me to interact with big guns like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and others. Again, it would be an opportunity for me to learn new things and aspects of the game. I’m in fact very keen to ask them questions. I do have some questions ready for them,” says Kushagra.
Kushagra, who has played 11 T20s so far in his career, is equally excited to join the Delhi Capitals camp and share the dug out with Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and Rishabh Pant.
“I was there in Delhi Capitals camp recently and I got to interact with Sourav (Ganguly) sir, Ricky Ponting Sir and Rishabh (Pant) bhaiya. I had a good chat with all the three regarding my game like what all can I do to improve my game. It’s a very good opportunity for me honestly and I’m lucky that I have got this chance at this young age. My aim is to learn as much as I can. Moreover, it would be really good for my game if I’m able to learn new things and apply them,” says Kushagra.
Focus is to play cricket
The Jharkhand batter is not thinking too much about the price tag and is solely focused on playing cricket and improving his game.
“Look, whatever the amount I have got (in the IPL auction) that’s different but my only focus is to play cricket and improve my skills. My goal is to enhance my skillset and rectify whatever the shortcomings are there in my game. Of course, it’s a big amount but if I keep thinking about that, I won’t be able to perform. So, I’m not really focusing on that,” adds Kushagra.
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