Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) handed IPL debut to 22-year-old Akshat Raghuwanshi for their match against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Mumbai on Monday.
The inclusion of Akshat Raghuwanshi was one of two changes LSG made, the other being the inclusion of Josh Inglis.
Raghuwanshi hit a six off the first ball when he faced Will Jacks during the match on Monday. Played loft over long-on to collect the maximum. He was dismissed for 11 runs from seven balls.
Who is Akshat Raghuwanshi?
Born on 15 September 2003, Akshat Raghuawanshi is a young batsman from Madhya Pradesh who rose to fame during the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season. He fires with his right hand.
He started playing cricket at a very young age under the guidance of his father. Raghuwanshi made an excellent impression on his first-class debut against Meghalaya, scoring a century.
He then followed that up with a half-century in his second match. During the 2021-22 season, the 22-year-old also captained the Meghalaya Under-19 team and led the team in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy.
Akshat Raghuwanshi has played just seven T20s and scored just 63 runs but has been tipped as one of the future stars in the shortest format. He even scored 105 runs from 45 balls against Bhopal Legends during a 2025 Madhya Pradesh Premier League match. A total of 239 runs from four innings at a strike of 177.
“I haven’t seen a more talented player at 21. Fingers crossed. Big things ahead for him,” RCB’s Venkatesh Iyer told ESPN. Former Madhya Pradesh and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach Chandrakant Pandit also had words of praise for the youngster.
“I saw him during an U-19 match in Madhya Pradesh. He was 17 and it was a practice game. I refereed that match. I heard he was a good player so I wanted to see him too. The first ball hit his pads when I was the umpire. I didn’t but I said he is not a star.”
“He went on to score 165. And I was immediately impressed, so we discussed with the selection committee and I told them it was time to draft him to the next level. The courage he showed at this level was exactly what I said in the post-match chat with the team. We have to learn to show the courage of this 18-year-old boy. He was never under pressure,” he added.
