Rajvardhan Hangargekar stats: Why is Rajvardhan Hangargekar not playing in IPL 2022?

Why Rajvardhan Hangargekar not playing in IPL 2022: The rookie all-rounder is yet to make his Indian Premier League debut.

Part of the ICC U-19 World Cup-winning Indian squad, uncapped all-rounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar celebrated his World Cup victory with a Chennai Super Kings contract for the ongoing 15th season of the Indian Premier League.

Hangargekar, who had registered himself in the price category of INR 30 lakh (INR 10 lakh more than U-19 captain Yash Dhull) for the mega auction held in Bengaluru earlier this year, was instantly successful in alluring interest from the likes of Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants.

Lucknow opting out of the bidding contest had made way for defending champions making an entry. It was only then that Super Kings had defeated Indians off-the-field to successfully buy Hangargekar for INR 1.5 crore.

Hangargekar, who was expected to be given an opportunity by this time of the IPL season, has surprisingly not been able to impress the team management after warming the bench for the 10th time in a row.

Why is Rajvardhan Hangargekar not playing in IPL 2022?

In a season where CSK have lost more matches than they’ve won, accommodating Hangargekar into the Playing XI was always doable especially after pacer Deepak Chahar was ruled out of the tournament.

Had it not been for leaving out Hangargekar in addition to an injury to Chahar, Super Kings wouldn’t have included debutants such as Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh. Much like Hangargekar, another uncapped Indian pacer in KM Asif is waiting for an IPL 2022 opportunity at Super Kings.

Chennai head coach Stephen Fleming had once opened up on the rationale behind not playing Hangargekar till now. Laying emphasis on being “cautious”, Fleming had spoken against harming a talented player.

“It’s a must to be very cautious. I do know he’s carried out on the beneath-19 stage however this can be a step up. We’re very aware of the talents that he must carry out. We don’t wanna simply throw him in and harm him. We wish to be certain that we realise the potential that he’s obtained”, Fleming had said in a statement published on their website.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar stats

In the seven overs that Hangargekar has bowled across two T20s for Maharashtra, he has given away 62 runs without picking a wicket. In five List A matches, however, Hangargekar has picked 10 wickets at an average of 22.40, an economy rate of 5.11 and a strike rate of 26.3.

Readers must note that none of Hangargekar’s U-19 teammate has been handed an IPL debut till date. Having said that, Punjab Kings all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa is the only exception on the back of playing their first two matches of the season although with minimal returns.