'Ganguly said there's a bit of Dhoni in him' - Kumar Kushagra's father Shashikanth reveals massive praise for his son

The IPL 2024 Auction was successfully conducted on Tuesday, December 19 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai as a total of 72 players were sold to ten franchises. While some big names from international cricket managed to get big bucks, some uncapped Indian players also made headlines as franchises shelled out a major portion of their purses to acquire them.

One such player was Kumar Kushagra who was bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) for INR 7.2 Crore after an intense bidding war with Gujarat Titans. Notably, Kushagra hails from the same state as former India captain MS Dhoni i.e. Jharkhand and is also a wicketkeeper-batter.

Also Read: IPL Auction 2024: Who is Kumar Kushagra? - Everything You Need to Know About Delhi Capitals’ 7.2 Cr buy

Reacting on the life-changing bid by DC for his son, Kushagra’s father, Shashikanth revealed that former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who’s also Director of Cricket at DC, was impressed with his six-hitting ability at the DC trials in Kolkata.

“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," Shashikanth Kushagra was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Shashikanth further revealed that Ganguly had promised to bid for his son till INR 10 Crore and when he was picked by Delhi he called it a miraculous day.

Ganguly told franchise would bid for him till ₹10 crore: Shashikanth

“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 ₹10 crore. I thought he will get picked by the 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,” he added.

Also Read: DC Team 2024 Player List: Complete Delhi Capitals (DC) Squad and Players List for IPL 2024

Notably, Kushagra holds the record for being the youngest cricketer to register a 250-plus score in a first-class match a feat he achieved during Ranji Trophy 2021-22 match against Nagaland. With his feat, he surpassed the legendary Pakistan batter Javed Miandad’s record.  In the 11 T20 matches, Kushagra has scored 140 runs at an average of 15.55 and a strike rate of 117.64.