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U-19 World Cup star Rajangad Bawa delighted with ₹2 crore IPL buy
The all-rounder, a key member of India’s victorious campaign in the Caribbean, was bought by Punjab Kings in the mega auction in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Life has been a whirlwind for Rajangad Bawa in the last two weeks. The high of being part of the victorious U-19 World Cup team in the Caribbean, especially in the final against England, was followed by the call up to the Chandigarh Ranji Trophy team. The dream run was rounded off on Sunday after the 19-year-old all-rounder was bought by Punjab Kings for ₹2 crore at IPL’s mega auction in Bengaluru.
He had a base price of ₹20 lakh, but Bawa found interest from Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad as well before PK bought their local player. After the U-19 Asia Cup, PK coach Anil Kumble was keen on getting Bawa and his U-19 World Cup teammate Harnoor Singh and was inquiring about them with PK scouts VRV Singh and Reetinder Sodhi.
In the mandatory quarantine in Bhubaneswar ahead of Ranji Trophy, Bawa was watching the auction on TV in his hotel room, and was thrilled when he was bought by the Punjab franchise, whose team he has followed from when he was a young boy, accompanying his father and coach Sukhwinder to watch IPL games at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali.
“I am excited to be given a chance in Punjab Kings. It has been my favourite team for a long time. I remember going to see their games right after practice in the evening, and I will be wearing a Punjab Kings jersey now,” said Bawa, who is also a right-arm seamer.
At the U-19 World Cup, Bawa gained attention when he scored 162* off 108 balls against Uganda. The left-handed batter surpassed Shikhar Dhawan’s India record of 155. The two will now share the dressing room. “I will have such great international cricketers around me during IPL. I can learn so much from Kumble as well,” Bawa, a Yuvraj Singh fan, said.
Grandson of the late Tarlochan Singh Bawa, member of the 1948 London Olympics gold-winning hockey team, Bawa took up the sport when his father was a coach in Gurgaon with his transfer to Chandigarh when he was 13 boosting his development.
He played for Punjab’s U-14, U-16 and U-19 teams before being picked to play for the country.
“I saw great passion for the sport in Raj’s eyes. The same I saw in Yuvraj’s eyes. I took it upon myself to give Raj the best of coaching and guidance. And when Union Territory Cricket Association (of Chandigarh) got BCCI affiliation in 2019, he got a huge boost.
“I knew the U-19 World Cup was around the corner, so we prepared for that. Due to the pandemic, the World Cup got delayed but we were adamant to make the chance count. He did well for the Chandigarh U-19 team and got selected for India,” Sukhwinder said.
Bawa took nine wickets and scored 252 runs in six games at the World Cup.
“Players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, etc., have been my U-19 idols. I hope to do well in whatever chances I get. Playing Ranji and then IPL will be big for me. Like my grandfather, I want to play for India senior team one day.”
