Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: ‘Lot of medicine, lot of rest’ — Raghuvanshi overcomes neck injury and steers Mumbai to victory

When Angkrish Raghuvanshi suffered a neck injury a couple of days ago, he was not sure whether he would be able to play in the next few games. But with the medical team working closely with him, the youngster recovered in time to return to Mumbai’s playing eleven in the Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Chhattisgarh.

Despite having his neck area heavily taped, he proved his mettle with the willow to score a fifty and guide Mumbai to its third win on the trot.

“I just had to take lots of medicine and take lots of rest to recover and be here,” Raghuvanshi said with a smile.

The 21-year-old has opened the innings for Mumbai in the tournament so far, and in the first game against Sikkim, he forged a 141-run partnership with Rohit Sharma, which according to him, was a ‘lot of fun’.

“Out of the 141 run stand, I got 40. Just taking singles, giving him the strike and watching him bat from the other end. It felt like a movie,” Raghuvanshi said.

Having been part of the Mumbai squad for the last couple of seasons, Raghuvanshi has learnt a lot. “The past three seasons that I’ve played with all the stalwarts of Mumbai cricket, Indian cricket, it’s just been a lot to learn. I think the competition brings out the best in people. I’ve been short of runs but the team has helped me, motivated me to work hard,” he said.

Raghuvanshi, who features for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, has been honing his wicketkeeping skills on the sidelines of the tournament. “I am really enjoying keeping. It is challenging, but it makes you feel like you are always in the game,” Raghuvanshi, who was a member of India’s U-19 World Cup winning team in 2022, said.

Asked if wicketkeeping could be part of his long term plans with KKR, Angkrish remained non-committal. “That you will find out in due time,” he said.

Published on Dec 29, 2025