Akshat Raghuwanshi Debuts for Lucknow Super Giants Against Rohit Sharma
akshat raghuwanshi made his IPL debut for Lucknow Super Giants against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on May 4, 2026. The maiden cap came in front of Rohit Sharma, the batter he idolises, and it arrived after Lucknow Super Giants added him as a 2.2 crore auction pick.
Wankhede Stadium debut
Rishabh Pant told the toss that Lucknow Super Giants had three changes and that Raghuwanshi was making his debut. Josh Inglis came into the side after a brief absence due to personal commitments, while Mukul went out.
For Raghuwanshi, the call ended a long wait. He had drawn attention with his 2025 Madhya Pradesh League form, but this was his first IPL appearance, and it came against the Mumbai Indians batter he had admired growing up.
Raghuwanshi's rise
His path to the night at Wankhede started in Gwalior, where he began playing cricket at age three under his father’s guidance. In the 2021–22 Ranji Trophy season, he made a century on debut for Madhya Pradesh against Meghalaya and followed it with a half-century in his second match.
He later captained Madhya Pradesh’s U-19 side in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. His domestic record shows why Lucknow moved early: 361 runs in 17 List A innings at 22.81, seven T20 matches with 63 runs at a strike rate of 131.25, and 239 runs in four Madhya Pradesh League matches at a strike rate of 177.04.
The sharpest number from that 2025 surge was 115 off 56 balls in one Madhya Pradesh League innings. It is the sort of burst that put him on the radar before the auction and helped push him into the XI when Lucknow needed another batting option.
Lucknow Super Giants changes
The selection also fit a side under pressure. Lucknow Super Giants entered the match at the bottom of the table, with batting a major concern this season, and the debut gave them a fresh middle-order option without changing the basic problem they have been carrying.
That is where the debut sits now: a young right-hander, a 2.2 crore price tag, and a first IPL chance against the player he grew up watching. Lucknow have given him the cap; the next step is whether he can turn domestic momentum into runs at IPL level.
