Kumar Kushagra's GT Journey: From Bench to Jharkhand's Trophy Triumph

The evidence arrived in the 2025/26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which Jharkhand won, and Kushagra, batting at number three, was central to that triumph by amassing 422 runs in ten games at an average of 161.68 and an average of 60.28, including four fifties.

He would carry that rich vein of form in Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches, where Kushagra even led Jharkhand when Ishan Kishan wasn't present. The start of Kushagra having that power-play prowess in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy came from the learnings given by GT's director of cricket, Vikram Solanki.

"I enjoyed it because I was getting good batting practice and under good coaches - like, Vikram Solanki sir helped me a lot when I was there in GT doing batting in the nets and in practice matches. He helped me a lot with batting - like how a specialist batter in white-ball cricket performs, what he does, and what a three-format player would do. So there was a very good contribution from GT's side," recalled Kushagra in an exclusive conversation with IANS, facilitated by JSW Sports.

What also helped Kushagra, who previously played three games for Delhi Capitals (DC), was that his issues against facing the new ball were ironed out by Solanki at GT. "Against the new ball, I was not having exactly any issues. But I was not able to play well against it because I was batting at number five or six. Even when I was practising while I was back home, I was not getting that many opportunities to practice against a new ball.

"So when I joined the GT camp, he told me directly that whenever you bat, it will be against a new ball, and don't even think about the old ball. So that took me to a different mindset that I have to use power-play well, hit the balls, and in the gaps as well.

"I was just asking him how I can just hit the gaps also, and just not think about hitting the ball over the fielders. So we talked a lot about that, and whatever he told me, I did it in the nets, and it was displayed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy -- so he was also very happy," he elaborated.

Behind the stumps as well, Kushagra's education continued via former keepers Parthiv Patel and Matthew Wade. "Parthiv sir helped me a lot. If you talk about keeping against the spinners, he was the specialist. He was telling me how to move, especially when a bowler like Rashid Khan, who has bowled so many good balls, is bowling.

"He is unpredictable when you are keeping and while batting as well. So he helped me a lot by saying that you should keep more against Rashid Khan -- look at the ball he is bowling and understand it. If he plays in a match, you have to understand it.

"He was very much into that, while Matthew Wade was mostly focused on the fast bowlers, while he was hitting into the catchers and all. So both of them were very different style coaches, and they helped me a lot as I was able to tick both the boxes while working with both of them," he explained.

Aside from the priceless education Kushagra got at GT, he also got a sneak peek into the team's family-like environment and how observing head coach Ashish Nehra led to him maturing in his demeanour as a player.

"Yes, you can say that because while staying with the players there, everyone was very helpful. Even in the coaches, if you see Ashish Nehra, he was so funny from the outside. But when you are going inside the ground, he becomes so intense.

"So I think I learnt a lot about how to stay outside, while being focused inside, irrespective of the performance. Like how you are performing, what should be your focus inside, and what should be your nature outside. So there were many things to learn about over there."

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win sits at the centre of this story, not merely as a result but as proof of Kushagra applying everything he had absorbed at GT in 2025, including when he was shifted up the order to maximise the power-play alongside Kishan.

"I expected that they would tell me that I would open the inning. But when the combination didn't work out, they told me that I would bat at number three. I asked them what they were expecting from me, and they told me that if I use power play well, it would be great for the team.

"They gave me a clarification in my mind that this is my role, and I felt very good about it. I was talking to the team's management and secretary Saurabh Tiwary, and yes, it was a very good tournament, and it was even more fun when we won."

"I was happy, and we were happier in winning the tournament because we used to perform well every year. But we were not doing that much so that we could win a tournament. So this tournament that we won, I had a very good role in it. My team and the coaches had a good role in promoting me from number five to number three," he said.

Kushagra's tryst with the leadership role also went well, something which fills him with gratitude. "The domestic season was much better compared to the last two seasons. I aim to take my team to a higher level than what they were before, and I got that platform, and they thought I was capable enough to become a captain.

"So they gave me the captaincy, and I was doing it when Ishan Kishan was not there. In the Vijay Hazare tournament, I did captaincy in four to five games, and our performance was good. So, I feel grateful."

Kushagra was back at GT's short pre-season camp in Udaipur in January before the second leg of the Ranji Trophy began, and to his happiness, he found the intensity top-notch. "Not many players and coaches were there, so it was a short camp, but it was very much intense - keeping, fielding, and batting were very good.

"At that time, it was very cold -- so we were practicing in the morning, and then we had a camp. So I think I was there for like 2-3 days, I had a lot of fun there, and then again, I'm pretty much excited to join the team again."

Though many things in Kushagra's life remain the same, one thing that is still unchanged is the practice he does with his father in Jamshedpur before going for any big tournament.

"The mindset as a player has changed a lot, though not as a human being. You try to improve a little bit every year, and every year you are getting closer to entering the Indian team - that thing stays in the mind because you do a lot of IPL camps.

"Then you play the Duleep Trophy, and there's a domestic season. If you are playing for India 'A', you have to stay in that flow. So you have to improve your thinking habits, eating habits, and be mentally very tough. I try to improve that a lot when I am on the field," he said.

With Jos Buttler shaping as GT's primary keeper-batter, it means Kushagra will need to bide his time before getting the chance to unleash his fireworks. But having helped Jharkhand end their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy drought, Kushagra's immediate target is to win an IPL title with GT and, beyond that, a place in the Indian team. If all of this materialises, then that period of education in GT's nets in 2025 will prove to be career-defining.

- IANS