KKR Faces Tough Decision on Retaining Rising Star Angkrish Raghuvanshi for IPL 2025

As discussions heat up ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, cricket fans are eagerly speculating about which players teams will retain. All franchises are required to submit their retention list by the end of this month. The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), are among the teams that must finalize which players they want to keep for the next season. KKR’s squad boasts several big names, including Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, the Iyer brothers (Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer), Mitchell Starc, and Phil Salt.

However, one rising star who has sparked considerable discussion is 19-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi, a young batter who made a notable impact during IPL 2024. His impressive debut season has left the KKR management with a tough decision, as each team can only retain six players from the previous squad.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi, despite his young age, displayed remarkable potential in IPL 2024, scoring a half-century in his debut season. Over the course of 10 matches, he accumulated 163 runs at a strike rate of 155.23, with his highest score being 54 against the Delhi Capitals. His ability to strike the ball to the boundary was evident as he hit 16 fours and 8 sixes throughout the season.

In fact, if we compare Raghuvanshi’s numbers to that of the more experienced Rinku Singh, the young batter’s performance stands out. Rinku Singh scored 168 runs in 15 matches, while Raghuvanshi managed 163 runs in just 10 matches. Despite often batting in the middle order, Angkrish proved himself capable of power hitting and scoring quickly, a quality that KKR has often relied on.

Reflecting on his journey, Angkrish has said: “My childhood was not tough, but it was tough for my mom and dad because they ensured I didn’t suffer. My aim is to wear the India jersey, but to wear it in a way that no one else has before—so that everyone looks at me and says I am different.”

Given his potential and remarkable performance in his first IPL season, Kolkata Knight Riders may seriously consider keeping faith in this young talent for the upcoming IPL seasons.