Karn Veer Kaushal calls MS Dhoni his batting role-model

Karn Veer recently became the first batsman to score a double hundred in Vijay Hazare trophy.

Karn Veer Kaushal | Times of India

Uttarakhand opener Karn Veer Kaushal recently smashed the first ever double hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He surpassed the previous highest score by Ajinkya Rahane, that was 187 for Mumbai back in 2007-08.

Talking about his achievement with Times of India, the 27-year-old said, "I am really happy to break Ajinkya Rahane's record. he is a legend of the game.

"If I meet Rahane someday, I will tell him about this record and will present him the scoresheet. He (Rahane) is a great batsman. I would love to take some cricketing tips from him."

Kaushal further said that he was unaware of the record. "Honestly, I didn't know about this record. In fact, I wasn't aware what the individual highest score was in Vijay Hazare Trophy history and have broken Ajinkya Rahane's record." 

Kaushal has one more record by his name. He and Vineet Saxena put up the highest opening stand in List A cricket in India. They scored 296 runs to get past Shikhar Dhawan and Aakash Chopra's unbeaten 277 run-stand record. 

"Vineet Saxena is my senior. He played a vital role in my in my innings. When I brought up my century, Vineet came to me and said, ‘you don't have to stop here, take your take your innings forward'. After every 10 or 15 runs, he motivated me," he said.

"It was a memorable day for me. These records came as big surprises for me. Breaking Rahane's record and Dhawan-Chopra's partnership record were really big things for me. I just went and played my natural game," added Kaushal.

The 27-year-old sees MS Dhoni as his batting role-model. "I admire Dhoni. I always wanted to bat like him. I want to be a world-class finisher in the game. The way he plays hits the ball and handles the pressure, it is world class. Indian cricket is lucky to have a cricketer like him. I would like to meet him someday and thank him for motivating me," he added.

Kaushal is a national level Table Tennis player. He has an interesting story behind how he picked up cricket as his career. "I have played at the National level in Table Tennis. When I was in 10th standard, my friends and I skipped school and went to see a cricket trail. My friends pushed me to give the sport a shot. I took up the challenge. By God's grace, I was selected and went on to represent the Uttarakhand Under-16 cricket team. That's how my cricketing journey started," he said. 

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 16 Oct, 2018

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