Meet Raghu - 'Heartbeat' of Team India Who Lifted The Trophy After Rohit Sharma & Co. Blanked Bangladesh 2-0

It’s not too often that members of support staff – that work tirelessly behind the scenes to get Indian cricketers ready for the on-field battle – get their moment under the sun. On Tuesday though India throwdown specialist Raghavendra Dwivedi aka Raghu though had his moment of fame when he was handed over the series trophy won by his team after they beat Bangladesh in Kanpur Test by seven wickets.

Raghu has been working with the Indian batters for a long time now to help improve their skills. Hailing from Kumta in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, he grew up dreaming to be a professional cricketer.

His father, a school teacher, wasn’t in favour of Raghu pursuing the sport.

Despite the disapproval of his father, Raghu was steadfast in his resolve to carve out a career in the sport. In Hubli, he gave trials for the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

With no support from his family, Raghu had to spend time in a bus stand, a temple and even at a graveyard. Soon, things turned for the better as he impressed enough through his performances for the Dharwad Zone Team which led to KSCA providing him with accommodation.

However, an injury cut short his dream of becoming a professional cricketer, but he remained connected with the sport.  A life in cricket coaching beckoned and he started working with KSCA which culminated in a job with the BCCI in 2008 and three years later, he became a throwdown specialist for the Indian team.

Raghu seems to be a popular figure within the Indian cricket ecosystem. Ahead of the start of 2nd Test in Kanpur, former India allrounder and head coach Ravi Shastri shared a picture with Raghu and called him “the heartbeat of Indian cricket team.”

“Always good to see the Man Friday and the heartbeat of the Indian Cricket team – Raghu,” Shastri wrote on X.

His contribution has been acknowledged by the likes of Virat Kohli.

“I believe the improvement this team has shown while playing fast bowling since 2013 has been because of Raghu,” Kohli had said in 2013. “He has good concepts about footwork, bat movement of players. He has improved his skills so much that from sidearm he easily hurls the balls at 155 kmph.”