The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises are always on the lookout for promising talents and one name who is likely to be a potential target in the next IPL 2026 auction is Tushar Raheja.
The 24-year-old wicketkeeper batter is currently lighting up the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL 2025) with his explosive batting. The left-handed opener slammed three consecutive fifties and is the leading run-scorer of the tournament so far with 218 runs in three games at a staggering average of 109 while hitting at a rate of 198.18.
Playing for the Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans, he registered his third half-century of the season tonight (June 13) against the Salem Spartans with a knock of 74 off just 28 balls. In the process, he also hit the fastest fifty of the season (in 16 balls). The fastest across editions is by Washington Sundar, who did it in 15 balls.
In the previous two clashes opposite Chepauk Super Gillies and the Dindigul Dragons, Raheja slammed 79(43) and an unbeaten 65*(39) respectively.
Notably, in the previous edition of the tournament (TNPL 2024), Raheja was equally impressive and finished as the second-highest run-scorer with 324 runs in 9 games at an average of 36, including three fifties. He finished the season with most number of number of fours.
He also had a good last domestic season playing for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), where he managed 163 runs in six games at an average of 32.60.
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Teams like Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have struggled with the opening slot and will be looking to fix it next season.
KKR had two different wicketkeeper-batters as openers in IPL 2025- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock but neither of them quite delivered in the role. On the other hand, CSK and DC tried out different pairs at the top and struggled to find the right combination.
Given his hitting prowess and fearless attitude required in the shortest format, Raheja could be a hot commodity and could attract lucrative bids in IPL 2026.
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