The wicketkeeper-batter has struck two fifties in seven Youth ODIs for India U19.
The quality of players rising the ranks has a huge role to play in the cricketing journey of a country. Each team goes through transitions over the years, and the baton is passed from seniors to the ones who have shown consistency at the domestic and U19 levels. One such emerging star for India is Abhigyan Kundu. He has come into the spotlight with his 74-ball match-winning knock of an unbeaten 87 in Brisbane.
Amid the likes of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre making headlines for their impressive performances at the U19 level, Kundu is also inching upwards. However, Kundu does not possess an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract yet, unlike his two teammates. But given his talent, this may change soon.
Kundu is a left-handed batter and wicketkeeper for the current Indian U19 side. The 17-year-old can score at a brisk rate, which helps the team accelerate in crucial phases of the match. To add to that, Kundu has repeatedly shown his capability to play long innings, which instils a lot of confidence in the management.
The Mumbai played trained at the Avinash Salvi Foundation in his early days. He instantly made a name for himself in school cricket by scoring runs across formats. In an interview, he mentioned that his role models are Virender Sehwag, Brian Lara, and Sachin Tendulkar. Moreover, he would like to develop his wicketkeeping skills like MS Dhoni, along with leadership qualities.
In the seven Youth ODIs Kundu has played till now in his brief career, he looks pretty set for the long haul despite the short sample size. Exactly a year after making his debut for the Indian U19 side in Youth ODIs, the left-handed batter claimed a match-winning knock. Kundu scored a resilient 87* against the Australia U19 side in a run-chase that looked steep at one point. His partnership with Vedant Trivedi propelled India towards victory.
Australia U19 had won the toss and elected to bat first in the first of the three Youth ODIs. They posted a par score of 225/9 in their quota of 50 overs. John James rescued the team from a worrisome situation, scoring an unbeaten 77 off 68 deliveries. As for India, Henil Patel scalped three wickets for 38 runs. Kishan Kumar and Kanishk Chauhan also pitched in with two wickets each.
In response, Suryavanshi started India’s innings like he always does. He scored a fearless 38 off 22 deliveries to provide a quickfire start. But India lost two wickets in quick succession. Skipper Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra were back in the dugout in no time. Kundu walked in to bat when the team’s score was 75/3. He stitched a 152-run stand with Vedant Trivedi to steer India U19 home.
In seven Youth ODIs so far, Kundu has scored 266 runs at a healthy average of 66.50. To add to that, his strike-rate of 104.31 speaks volumes about his ability to keep looking for runs. And this is what might separate him from the rest. In the seven innings played, he has scored 40+ runs on three occasions, remaining unbeaten on each occasion. In three Youth Tests, Kundu has notched up 221 runs with two fifties under his belt.
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The left-handed wicket-keeper batter has been a force to reckon with at the junior level. The skills which he possesses prove that he has the ingredients to achieve great things for India in the years to come. Kundu has participated in multiple high-performance camps, and the selectors would be watching him from close quarters. Moreover, good wicketkeeper-batters are never out of demand.
To add to that, the youngster has also given a glimpse of his leadership skills, being the vice-captain of the side. He has taken the team out of difficult situations multiple times, a quality which not many players have. This shows that he can stay calm under pressure.
With the performances he is showcasing, Kundu will be on the list for a lot of teams. He has represented Mumbai at the U19 level, and will be eyeing to participate in the senior Ranji side soon. Coupled with knocks like this one in Brisbane, Kundu is on his way with the right recipe to become a multi-format player with a jack of all trades.
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