Mumbai batter and Rohit Sharma’s new List A opening partner, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, has taken up wicket-keeping practices to evolve his skillset in the game, which would add to his value in the future. The KKR batter has hinted at donning the gloves in the IPL as well.
The Kolkata Knight Riders almost revamped their squad by all means ahead of the next season in the IPL. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has turned out to be a valuable asset for them in the middle order.
However, considering the way KKR acquired their players during the 2026 IPL mini-auction, every player in the side will be on their toes to replace the other in the playing XI. Hence, Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been practising new skill sets to consolidate his position within the XI.
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Angkrish Raghuvanshi turns wicket-keeper to retain spot in KKR XI
Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi entered IPL in 2024 as a young 19-year-old cricketer. Under Gautam Gambhir’s expertise, he made his debut for KKR and batted in the top order, gaining some sublime control. Raghuvanshi also turned out to be KKR’s man when it came to runs in the previous season of the IPL.
Recently, he was spotted playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the Mumbai Cricket team. He was part of the 141-run opening stand alongside Rohit Sharma and was recently interviewed from the sidelines of one of the matches for Mumbai.
When asked about the recent wicket-keeping drills he has been doing, and if he would keep wickets for KKR in the IPL as well. Angkrish Raghuvanshi said, “I’m really enjoying it. It’s challenging, but it feels like you’re in the game all the time.” He added that whether he would keep it for KKR or not shall be found out in due time.
VIDEO | When asked about practising wicketkeeping to expand his skill set ahead of the IPL, Angkrish Raghuvanshi said he is enjoying the challenge and working hard on it. “I’m really enjoying it. It’s challenging, but it feels like you’re in the game all the time,” he added.… pic.twitter.com/z4a7pFpCiH
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2025
Kolkata Knight Riders invested big money in Indian wicket-keeper Tejasvi Dahiya
The Kolkata Knight Riders entered the 2025 IPL auction with the highest purse and acted accordingly, as they bought two of the costliest players of the auction (Cameron Green and Matheesha Pathirana) and also set a record for the costliest overseas buy, surpassing their own set record with Mitchell Starc.
After having made the majority of their buys, the Kolkata Knight Riders still had enough money to invest in any player. They then went all out for the Delhi wicket-keeper batter Tejasvi Dahiya, who had performed promisingly in the Delhi Premier League.
The batter also had some promising numbers for Delhi. In two List A games, he had a hundred before making his third List A appearance for Delhi against Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Averaging 56.50 in T20s, the batter amassed 113 runs in 4 T20 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season.
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are among the power strikers for KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders could not get their hands on the likes of Sanju Samson or KL Rahul despite desperate attempts to acquire them through trades. Hence, they had to settle for Finn Allen and later Tim Seifert, the two New Zealand wicket-keepers.
Though Allen is not used much as a keeper by his national team as well as other franchise teams, he is a wicket-keeper and an explosive opening batsman. Seifert has the same attributes but is used more regularly as a gloveman.
KKR picked both these players at their base prices of INR 2 crores and INR 1.5 crores, respectively. Seifert, playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, scored a century in the BBL opener, and Finn Allen has also shown a promising performance with 138 runs in 3 matches for the Perth Scorchers.
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