Who Is Raghu? India's Throw-Down Specialist Who Rose from A Graveyard To Victory Stage
Raghu, The Throwdown specialist- (Source: @Johns/X.com)
On Tuesday, October 1, India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets to whitewash the series 2-0. Despite losing over two days to rain, the Indian team aimed for a win and courtesy of their aggressive approach, the Rohit Sharma-led side stunned Bangladesh.
It was a historic win as India strengthened their hold at the top of the WTC standings. During the trophy celebration, as per the new culture started by MS Dhoni, the newcomer to the team lifts the trophy. In this case, Rohit Sharma handed the trophy to Akash Deep, who was breathing fire with the new ball.
Other than Akash Deep, another photo went viral of India's support staff Raghu holding the trophy. But who is Raghu? The man who shaped the Indian team and key players like Virat Kohli in the past decade.
Meet Raghu; India's Throw-Down Specialist
Raghavendra Dwivedi fondly known as Raghu, is a throw down specialist in the Indian team and has been with the national team since 2011. He has played a crucial role in the past decade in shaping several players in the Indian team because of his ability to bowl deliveries at 150-155 km
Raghu hails from Kumta in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka and aspired to be a professional cricketer. However, his father, who was a school teacher, was against his decision to pursue the sport.
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Raghu Leaves Home And Stays At A Crematorium
Despite the disapproval of his father, Raghu left his home and spent time staying at a bus stand. As search was on for him, he shifted bases and then moved inside a temple. Eventually Raghu settled in a crematorium as reported by News18. Also, according to a refit post, he spent around four years there living in a room at the crematorium. However, he suffered an injury that crushed his dream to become a cricketer.
Nonetheless, he assisted batters with bowling practice and it caught the eyes of Karnataka Institute of Cricket that also offered him shelter. It is worth noting that Raghu started spending a lot of time at the NCA, where he became favourite of several star cricketers including Sachin Tendulkar.
He was there from 2008-2011 before he joined the Indian team and has been there since then helping several cricketers including Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli Heaps Massive Praise On Raghu
Once, during a Instagram live with Tamim Iqbal, Virat had credited Raghu for his improved game and remarked,
“I believe the improvement this team has shown while playing fast bowling since 2013 has been because of Raghu. He has good concepts about footwork, bat movement of players. He has improved his skills so much that from sidearm he easily hurls the balls at 155 kmph."
Recently, former India head coach Ravi Shastri too hailed Raghu as the hearbeat of Indian team.
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