IND vs SL: Meet mystery man who lifted Asia Cup 2023 trophy with Team India; know his connection with Tendulkar, Dravid

The thrilling Asia Cup 2023 came to an end on Sunday, September 17, with Team India lifting the trophy. India won the game after Sri Lanka was all out at just 50 runs in 16 overs while opening batters Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan completed this target in just 6 overs.

After a historic win in the India vs Sri Lanka finals of the Asia Cup 2023, the Rohit Sharma-led squad took the stage for celebrations. In the midst of this, the Indian skipper called a man on the stage to celebrate and even handed him the Asia Cup 2023 trophy.

Many were left confused as to who this mystery man is and why has he been called up to celebrate with Rohit Sharma’s squad. That person was none other than Team India's throwdown expert Raghavendraa alias Raghu.

Raghu has been an integral part of Team India and was on the Asia Cup 2023 tour with Rohit Sharma’s squad. He first participated in the 2011-12 Australia tour as a throwdown specialist. He returned to the Indian team support staff for the 2014 tour of England and has been an integral part of the Indian team staff since then.

Team india @BCCI s rf

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) December 7, 2018

His dream of joining the Indian team came true when, he was included in the team as a 'throwdown specialist' on the recommendation of cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who helped him in his quick succession at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

Raghavendraa aka Raghu is beloved by the entire Indian cricket team and is considered to be the most important off-field support staff for the time. Apart from giving throwdowns in the nets, he also takes care of accommodations, logistics, tickets, food, and other jobs for the cricket team, also being their biggest cheerleader.

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