On the eve of Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2026 encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur, assistant coach Shane Watson waxed lyrical about Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the pre-match press conference.

“I’ve been so fortunate over the years in the IPL to see some ridiculously talented young cricketers,” the Australian said. “I remember seeing Sanju Samson for the first time. I’d never seen a 17-year-old with that skill development. I continue to see that with Vaibhav Soorayavanshi. Angkrish is another one of those,” he said.

“I know we haven’t seen a consistent explosion of skill, but we will. It’s mind-blowing for me to be able to see his ability to adapt to different conditions, different bowlers and have all the skill options and shot options to be able to navigate that as well as he possibly can,” he added.

On Wednesday (May 13, 2026), against RCB, the 21-year-old gave a clear account of what his coach had explained the day before. Coming in to bat after the fall of an early wicket and seeing his skipper depart soon after, the young Mumbai batter had his back against the wall.

But during a knock in which he displayed immense maturity and exceptional reading of the conditions on offer, the lanky batter tallied his highest score in the IPL to lead the way with the bat for his side. “I was very impressed with the way he batted because the ball was really nipping around initially. [Josh] Hazlewood and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] were hitting the length. I felt he was tactically very astute,” KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar said after the game.

“I thought he paced his innings well. Played square off the wicket, used the angles really well, and picked his bowlers. I didn’t really feel that he was uncomfortable at any point. He belonged there, and that really stood out to me,” he added.