Follow UsEvery state has this wunderkind that everyone proclaims as the ‘next big thing’.
Karnataka cricket is no different, as the 19-year-old Hardik Raj is earmarked for greater heights with the state. The all-rounder was just three years old when he picked up the game, and at 19, he’s already become one of the seasoned professionals in the state side, with his magical left-arm.
But that journey between three and 19 makes Hardik Raj a generational talent.
When Hardik was about three or four years old, his dad and his biggest supporter, CV Rajesh, made him take up cricket professionally. The young all-rounder recalls how his dad shaved and cut off the bat into a smaller size so the left-hander could grip it to hone his batting skills.
It didn’t stop there either, as his dad also ensured that nothing could deprive Hardik from becoming a professional cricketer, with a DIY (Do It Yourself) net with a floodlight on the terrace of his home in Rajajinagar, a small suburb in Bengaluru.
“Yeah, honestly, I've been playing this game only because of him. Initially, I was forced into playing cricket around till the age of 11 or 12. Then I started growing an interest and started playing professionally,” Hardik told Cricket.com in an exclusive interview.
When Hardik was around eight years old, he joined the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), where he trained under the watchful eye of Irfan Sait, one of the notable coaches in the state.
“Hardik was seven or less when he first joined KIOC. His dad showed me his video clips on his laptop; that’s the first time I saw this kid in action. I was excited by the visuals and wanted him in my academy as soon as possible,” Sait told Cricket.com about Hardik’s rise.
Under Sait’s guidance, the left-hander learnt about his game and technique. But more importantly, KIOC gave him an atmosphere where his skill set came out loud and bold.
Before he was 10, there were widespread expectations that Hardik would become one of the biggest names in age-group cricket around the Karnataka cricketing circles. But on the back of his dad’s advice, he had just picked up the ball, having spent much of his formative years as a batter, waiting for his turn.
“To be honest, the main reason why I switched to becoming a left-arm spinner is because I didn’t get to bat a lot during age-group cricket. Like I was batting at No.4/5 back then, and I hardly got to bat because of top-order batting for a longer duration.”
It was only when he met Raghuram Bhatt, a left-arm spinner himself, that Hardik picked up minuscule details about the art of left-arm spin.
“Yes, I chatted with him [Raghuram Bhatt] early on in my career, and that sort of opened my eyes about left-arm spin. I had a lot of sessions with him, training under his watchful eyes.”
Those chats propelled the youngster upwards, rocking the age-group levels, picking up 45 wickets across 28 clashes in 2017/18, turning up both at the U-14 and the U-16 for the state.
The Bishop Cottons Boys School Alumni then went on to rock the U-16 scene, as the 12-year-old scalped 46 wickets across 18 clashes in the following season, becoming one of the highly sought-after youngsters.
“It was quite certain that he would play big cricket; it was just a matter of when. He was always playing cricket beyond his biological age. He played U-14 when he was 10, and U-16 when he was 12. Even before he was 14, he used to play for Jawans CC in KSCA’s Senior Second Division League,” Sait recalled.
When he was 17, the all-rounder quickly rose in the Karnataka ranks, scripting a historic Cooch Behar Trophy in 2024, with a stellar all-round season where he amassed close to 300 runs and picked up 28 wickets, averaging 20.42 with the ball. So, how much does he value that competition in his progress?
“Yeah, it has a major impact [on my career] because I got into the Ranji Trophy squad. It was a baseline for me to get into playing senior and good cricket. So it helped me quite a lot. Winning the trophy was also a nice thing which happened,” Hardik reflected on Karnataka’s successful season.
Two notable performances: 100 against Tamil Nadu in the semi-final and 1/85 combined with his figures of 4/80 and 51 in the final against Mumbai fast-tracked him into the U-23 setup, for the CK Nayudu Trophy. One game at the U-23 level, where he picked up 4/67 against Jammu and Kashmir, was enough for the selectors to catapult the 17-year-old to the senior setup.
The selectors didn’t want to add any more pressure on the youngster, with a simple message.
“The [J&K] game was going on. So that's when I talked to them. They told me nothing much. There won’t be much difference from the Under-23 [CK Nayudu] games. Ranji Trophy is going to be pretty similar, just that the pressure and stakes are a little higher compared to the Under-23.”
“The night before [my debut], if I remember, I think Mayank [Agarwal] called me to his room and then he spoke very general stuff. Like, they didn't put any expectations on me because it's my debut. They just told me to be myself and be natural. Whatever I've done in the age group category, I should continue to do that,” he added.
Quickly, the all-rounder was thrown into the deep end when he made his first-class debut against Tripura on a slightly tricky surface in Agartala, when the ball was moving around. While the scorecard might not suggest it, he already gave the selector a good account of himself when he faced 21 deliveries on that surface.
Two games later, his batting had the ultimate test when Karnataka faced cross-state rivals Tamil Nadu in Chennai. While plenty of turn was on offer, it wasn’t a typical slow-burning, which allowed the 18-year-old to turn heads around with a 96-ball 51, his maiden first-class half-century.
The very next innings, Karnataka coach PV Shashikanth was ready to utilise the young all-rounder as a floater in the batting unit to counter left-arm spin. Hardik was promoted to No.4, where he scored 20 off 35 deliveries, with three quick boundaries, which allowed them to set Tamil Nadu a target of 355.
“It wasn’t an assigned role as such, because there were two left-arm spinners bowling – Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram – I got to bat after Dev [Padikkal] got out. They wanted a left-right-hand combination going, and I was promoted.”
“Yeah, the clash against TN gave me great confidence. I got to know that I can bat this well. I didn’t get a lot of runs in the previous two games, so this game came at the right time for me. If I’m not wrong, I scored another half-century in the next clash.”
Hardik ended the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy season with 223 runs, averaging 24.78, with a high score of 82 and picked up 15 wickets @ 30.7 with the ball. It gave the all-rounder a mirror on the areas that need improvement to follow the footsteps of his idol, Ravindra Jadeja.
“Yeah, my whole goal, even when I practise, is to cover all three aspects of the game. If I were going into practice, I would always bat, bowl and field. So to resemble Ravindra Jadeja and be like him is a thing for me. I always want to contribute to the team somehow, that’s why Jadeja is a big inspiration to me,” the all-rounder said.
When he got that opportunity to show the world what he’s made of, in the 2024 edition of the Maharaja T20 Trophy, the young all-rounder certainly made it count, smashing a quick-fire half-century against Bengaluru Blasters in just 21 balls.
“I had not gotten to bat for a long time in the tournament, and that innings changed it all for me. Even in the nets, I wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities to bat. Mentally, I wasn’t ready for that knock.”
“Even though we lost five-six wickets, I wasn’t getting to bat. Something changed in that game, as my coach [VR Vanitha] suddenly asked me to pad up, and yeah, I just trusted my instincts during that knock, and it kicked in when I was out there in the middle.”
While the knock went in vain, his 33-ball 69 laced with 10 boundaries, including five sixes, certainly put a lot of limelight on his batting abilities. It certainly transformed the mindset in Hardik’s mind, as he now realised that his batting was suddenly taking the front seat, with the accelerator in his hand.
However, what it was doing was hindering his primary skillset – bowling.
“Well, everyone needs to get better than what they were yesterday. Likewise Hardik. I feel he needs to work on his variations - speed through the air and off the wicket, vary the seam positions and develop the skill of bowling on unhelpful pitches,” his coach, Irfan, said.
Hardik obliged, stating that he’s worked a lot on his bowling, “Especially on my run-up and how I can work around the angles. I have developed quite a few variations as well, and have confidence in my skillset to change my pace.”
Thus far, the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2025 hasn’t gone well for Hardik as he’s not been able to make an all-round impact for his side, Shivamogga Lions, with just four wickets and 54 runs (average of 13.5) with the bat.
For any 19-year-old, a slump like this is quite normal. The next phase of his cricketing career will be crucial, as it could either make him a great player or cause him to fall down the ladder.