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Kunal Singh Rathore, an attacking wicketkeeper-batter by profession, made his Rajasthan debut in each of the three formats in a space of just two months during India’s 2022-23 domestic home season. While Rathore underwent ordinary seasons with the bat during his first-ever Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy gigs, the cricketer blasted 147 runs during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season of 2022, at a healthy average of 36.75 and an exceptional strike rate of 128.94. Mere weeks after the conclusion of India’s prestigious T20 domestic competition in November 2022, the left-handed batter was roped in by the Rajasthan Royals franchise at the IPL 2023 auction for his base price value of INR 20 lakhs. Despite not playing a single game during the entirety of IPL 2023 season, young Kunal Singh Rathore got retained by the franchise for the following IPL edition of 2024. By his own admission, and according to a Rajasthan Royals website interview, Rathore took valuable inputs from the likes of Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal during his time watching all the cricketing action unfold from the sidelines. A self-proclaimed fan of Brad Haddin and Quinton de Kock, one can safely assume that the aspiring stumper must have also learned some tricks of the keeping trade from team captain Sanju Samson and legendary Englishman Jos Buttler. In 2023, Kunal Singh Rathore raised his T20 strike rate for Rajasthan to 152.85 with enterprising hitting in the 2023 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In November 2024, the then 22-year-old found a place in the Rajasthan Royals team for the third successive year in a row. (As of February 2025)
