Who is Akshat Raghuwanshi? MP batter whacks Will Jacks for first-ball six on IPL debut during MI vs LSG at Wankhede

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) handed an IPL debut to 22-year-old Akshat Raghuwanshi for their match against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Mumbai on Monday.

The inclusion of Akshat Raghuwanshi was one of the two changes that LSG made, with the other being the inclusion of Josh Inglis.

Raghuwanshi smacked a six off the first ball while facing Will Jacks during Monday's match. He played a loft over long-on to collect the maximum. He was dismissed for 11 runs from seven balls. 

He began playing cricket at a very young age under the guidance of his father. Raghuwanshi made an excellent impression in his First-Class debut against Meghalaya, scoring a century.

He then followed it up with a half-century in his second match. During the 2021-22 season, the 22-year-old was also the captain of the Meghalaya Under-19 team and led the side in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy.

Akshat Raghuwanshi has played just seven T20s and scored only 63 runs, but he has been pipped as one of the future stars in the shortest format. He even slammed 105 runs from 45 balls against Bhopal Legends during a Madhya Pradesh Premier League match in 2025. He aggregated 239 runs from four innings at a strike-rate of 177.

“At 21, I haven’t seen a more talented player. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Big things are waiting for him in the future," RCB's Venkatesh Iyer was quoted as saying by ESPN. Former Madhya Pradesh and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach Chandrakant Pandit also had words of praise for the youngster.

“I had seen him during a U-19 match in Madhya Pradesh. He was 17 years old and it was a practice game. I was umpiring in that match. I had heard about him, that he was a good player, so I wanted to see him too. The first ball struck his pads while I was the umpire. Mein not out diya, woh out tha. (I called it not out, but it was out)," he told Sportstar.

“He went on to score 165. And I was impressed instantly, so we discussed with the selection committee, and I told them this was the time to draft him onto the next level. The courage he has shown at this level was exactly what I told in the post-match chat with the team. We have to learn to show the courage of this 18-year-old boy. He was never under pressure," he added.