Raj Angad Bawa: From Idolising Yuvraj Singh to Quitting Dance; Meet India’s U-19 World Cup Star

His father admits that his son never wanted to take up cricket as he was more fond of dancing and theatre. 

Trinidad: 162 off just 108 deliveries from Raj Angad Bawa helped India notch up a mammoth 405 for five against Uganda on Saturday during the ICC U-19 World Cup in Trinidad. While the 19-year-old from Chandigarh made headlines, plaudits believe the stylish left-hander is the next big thing to look forward to from Indian cricket. While expectations rise from Raj, it would be interesting to see how he goes about taking it to the next level.

Not much is known about the left-hander, who smashed eight sixes and 14 fours during his innings, is certainly making his hero proud. Raj is a massive Yuvraj Singh fan and that was evident in the way he clobbered the Uganda attack.

In an interview with The Indian Express, the 19-year-old reveals he used to idolise and also look to imitate his batting technique in his early days.

“I used to watch Yuvraj practise at my father’s coaching centre. When I first picked up the bat maybe I was trying to imitate him, and it stuck with me,” said Raj.

The southpaw also spoke of his deep-rooted connection with No 12.

“I used to watch Yuvraj practise at my father’s coaching centre. When I first picked up the bat maybe I was trying to imitate him, and it stuck with me,” said Raj, who idolises Yuvraj Singh, and dons the same jersey number 12,” he added.

His father admits that his son never wanted to take up cricket as he was more fond of dancing and theatre.

“He was never into the cricket. I had given up all the hopes. I thought, he will become an actor,” recalls father Sukhwinder.