Lost His Father To COVID-19, Now A Upcoming India Star: Who Is Rajyavardhan Hangargekar, MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings Teammate

During the initial lockdown four years ago, 17-year-old Rajvardhan Hangargekar was faced with a difficult choice. He had to go past the loss of his father to COVID, get back up, and pursue his goals.

"Tough phase for me, but I kept telling myself, 'Okay, I have to accept what has happened, but I can't just sit here and put myself in a bad frame of mind," he told cricbuzz. (Ishant Sharma Picks Arshdeep Singh Ahead Of Umran Malik For Test Cricket, Says THIS)

"I therefore knew what to do. Going out there and practicing again with the same fervor and everything else was difficult for me. My objectives were already determined. I understood what I wanted to achieve," said India A bowler and current MS Dhoni teammate in the Chennai Super Kings dressing room.

Rajvardhan was a member of the Indian team that won the U19 Cricket World Cup. CSK purchased him for Rs 1.5 crore.  It was interesting to observe how MS Dhoni used him in the IPL 2023, a season where he led the Chennai Super Kings to another IPL title.

Rajvardhan plays Maharashtra and in January 2023 at Pune, he played his recent game in the Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad. The match's standout bowler bowled 13 overs in the first innings and only gave up 24 runs at an economy of 1.84. Rajvardhan took three wickets in 16 overs during Hyderabad's second innings, for an economy rate of 4.12.

Born on November 10, 2022, Hangargekar only played two games for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2023 season with Tushar Deshpande getting a chance in front of him. In both games, he clinched 3 wickets in each contest respectively but his expensive economy rate sidelined him later for the rest of the season.

He is now playing for India A under the leadership of Yash Dhull with numerous other IPL stars also getting a chance to showcase their skillsets in the Emerging Asia Cup 2023.