The 2026 IPL auction will be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16. Before that, young cricketers were catching attention with excellent performances in domestic cricket. However, ahead of the auction, franchises have released multiple star cricketers. The list includes names like Andre Russell, Devon Conway, and Matheesha Pathirana. But the Gujarat Titans have retained 21-year-old uncapped Indian cricketer Kumar Kushagra. This young Turk proved that the team management's decision was not wrong. In a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match, Kumar played a stormy innings of 86 runs off 42 balls for Jharkhand. With his dominance, Jharkhand won by chasing a record run total.
Batting first, Punjab scored 235 runs for six wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. 23-year-old Salil Arora caught attention with an unbeaten innings of 125 runs off 45 balls. Coming down to chase 236 runs, captain Ishan Kishan set the stage. He played a stormy innings of 47 runs off 23 balls. While Virat Singh and Robin Minz didn't get big runs, Kumar Kushagra took responsibility.
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This young cricketer stole the spotlight. He played an unbeaten innings of 86 runs off 42 balls. In the middle overs, he formed crucial partnerships with Anukul Roy (66-run partnership) and Pankaj Singh (71-run partnership). Eventually, Jharkhand secured victory with 11 balls remaining. This is the most successful run chase victory in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
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Kumar Kushagra has already scored 316 runs in eight matches in this tournament. This includes three half-centuries. His strike rate in seven matches is nearly 156. Kumar has long established his identity by playing in various age-group categories in domestic cricket.
In the 2024 IPL auction, Delhi bought him for ₹7.20 crore. When the team didn't retain him the following year, he joined Gujarat. This time too, Gujarat has retained Kumar. Before the auction, Kumar repaid that trust.
