From a Duleep Trophy hundred to a Player of the Match performance against Australia A, Kumar Kushagra’s form has earned him his first India call-up.
IMAGE: Kumar Kushagra and his Instagram post that has now gone viral. Photograph: Kind courtesy Kumar Kushagra/Instagram
Key Points
- Kumar Kushagra, the 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand, has received his maiden India call-up for the last two ODIs against New Zealand.
- He will serve as Ishan Kishan’s back-up for the fourth and fifth ODIs scheduled for November 13 and 15.
- Kushagra’s selection follows strong performances, including a century in the Duleep Trophy final and a Player of the Match award in an unofficial Test against Australia A.
- He has played 40 List A matches, scoring 1,387 runs with two centuries and 10 half-centuries.
Jharkhand’s 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra earned his maiden India call-up on Friday and was included in the squad for the last two ODIs of the five-match series in New Zealand next month.
Kushagra will be Ishan Kishan’s back-up ‘keeper-batter for the fourth and fifth ODIs, scheduled to be played on November 13 and 15 respectively.
Kushagra’s Recent Form and Selection
Kushagra’s selection in India’s ODI squad came days after replacing Rishabh Pant in the India A squad for the three-match unofficial Test series against New Zealand A.
After his maiden India call-up, Kushagra took to Instagram to share BCCI’s post announcing the squad and captioned it, ‘Amen.’
Born in Bokaro on October 23, 2004, Kushagra has played 40 List A matches and scored 1,387 runs with two centuries and 10 half-centuries. Kushagra’s call-up has come on the back of some decent outings of late. He played all three matches of the Duleep Trophy for East Zone.
Impressive Performances
In the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, the 21-year-old scored a century (101) in the first innings and then hit a 46 in the second essay. He was named in the India A team for the unofficial Tests against Australia A where he scored an impressive century in the first Test.
His 113 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten on 46 in the second, earned him the Player of the Match award. Kushagra was also part of the India A squad for the recent three match series against Australia A in Puducherry.
India’s ODI Squad
India’s ODI squad for fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper, vice captain], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav.