Karnataka’s Prakhar Chaturvedi breaks Yuvraj Singh’s 24-year-old record. “Bahut mara, dhaaga khol diya ek dum (He smashed us all over the park)” is a famous dialogue from the protagonist of MS Dhoni’s biopic, which refers to Yuvraj Singh’s 358 runs in the Cooch Behar Trophy final between Punjab and Bihar.
Twenty-four years later, in the 2023–24 final, Prakhar Chaturvedi of Karnataka defeated the Mumbai team with an undefeated 404. For over twenty years, Yuvraj’s 358 at Keenan Stadium stood as the record for the highest individual score in a Cooch Behar Trophy final.
Karnataka won the first innings thanks to a brilliant knock from Prakhar after Mumbai was bowled out for 380 runs while batting first. Karnataka amassed 890 for 8 runs. In the 2011–12 season, Vijay Zol’s 451 not out for Maharashtra against Assam stands as the tournament record for highest individual score.
Prakhar’s mother, Rupa Chaturvedi, is a technical officer in the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), and his father, Sanjay Chaturvedi, is a software engineer who currently operates his own start-up.
“We are from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, but I have spent the better part of the last 20 years living in Bengaluru. Since I am an IIT BHU alum, I naturally wanted him to concentrate on his studies, but over the last few years, cricket has taken precedence. He studied economics in Class XII and is currently in his first year of a BA programme, according to Chaturvedi, who speaks with The Indian Express.
He used to play cricket like all the other kids in the flat. “Why don’t you put your son in an academy? He hits really well,” a gentleman from our society once said to me. His son was a cricket player too. We transferred him to SIX Cricket Academy in 2017. The Padukone-Dravid Centre of Sports Excellence in Bangalore is home to SIX. Prakhar has been the state representative for U-16 and U-19. He remarks, “It is encouraging to see that he is succeeding in cricket, a sport about which he is extremely passionate.
Prakhar has been trained for the last six years by former Karnataka captain and coach K Jeshwant, who thinks that this blow will silence all of his detractors.
He wasn’t chosen for U-19 or U-16 either. To convince the selectors that he is a talented cricket player, we had to put on a show for them. I am aware that there is fierce competition. It’s not the selectors’ fault. A coach or selector must have vision in order to assess a player’s ability; statistics, even those generated by a computer, are not reliable enough. Prakhar was giving a performance, but he was not selected; they would give different explanations. He continues, “He has now demonstrated his capabilities.
Jeswanth believes the opener has a great head on his shoulder and can succeed in all three formats. The opener displayed an amazing amount of patience during his 638 balls at the crease.
“In the extended version, you have witnessed him hitting. When you see him in the white ball, you’ll be astounded. He scores rapidly without exerting himself and plays with risk-free strokes. With good form, he scores every run with elegance. He never scores ugly,” says Jeswanth.
“He has a long range of ball striking. His three sixes are visible to you; they were all lengthy. In the Bengaluru circuit, he is well-known for hitting huge sixes,” he states.
Seven players from his academy make up the 15-person Karnataka squad, something the coach is extremely proud of. He states that among the substitutes was Krishiv Bajaj. “Prakhar Chaturvedi, Dhruv Prabhakar, Samit Dravid, Agastya Raju, Samarth, and Yuvraj Arora were in the playing XI.”
Prakhar’s father acknowledges the dedication of his son, who commuted approximately 100 km daily to play cricket. “The academy is located in Devanahalli, 50 km away from Electronic City, where we live. It resembles the opposite side of town. He has completed his hard work. The match was shown on TV as well. Majaa aaya kaafi, bahut maara isne (Fantastic, he performed so well),” Chaturvedi exclaims.
