Young Indian cricketer and KKR star Angkrish Raghuvanshi recently issued an apology for his disrespectful comments towards star India badminton player Saina Nehwal. In a viral video, Nehwal discussed the growing popularity of sports other than cricket in India, expressing pride in the success of Olympic athletes and highlighting the lack of attention given to non-cricket sports.
Nehwal also compared the physical demands of different sports to cricket, stating that they are all more challenging. Raghuvanshi, however, took offense to her comments and made a mocking remark about facing fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah's bouncers.
After facing backlash, Raghuvanshi deleted his post and publicly apologized for his remarks, acknowledging that they were meant as a joke.
“I’m sorry everyone, I meant my remarks as a joke, looking back I think it was a really immature joke. I realize my mistake and I sincerely apologize,” wrote Raghuvanshi on his X account.
“I did that, I feel it’s like a dream sometimes. I did it in India because there’s no sporting culture in India. Sometimes, we feel so bad that cricket gets that attention. What I have one thing about cricket is, if you see badminton, basketball, tennis and of course the other sports are so tough physically. You don’t even have the time to pick up the shuttle and serve. You’re like (imitates panting), 20 seconds of run you just breathing so hard. And the game like cricket gets that kind of attention where I think personally skill is more important,” Nehwal had said in the viral video.
Meanwhile, Raghuvanshi made his IPL debut in 2024 and showcased his talent by scoring 163 runs for KKR from ten innings, boasting an average of 23.29 and a striking strike rate of 155.24. His standout performance came against DC, where he notched up his maiden IPL fifty with a stellar 54 runs off just 27 balls.
Hailing from Delhi, this young cricketer shot to fame after emerging as India's top run-scorer in the triumphant Under-19 World Cup 2022 campaign. At just 20 years old, he displayed his prowess by amassing a total of 278 runs from six innings, boasting an impressive average of 46.33, including one century and one half-century.
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