Before Kolkata Knight Riders took on Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi on 26 September, the last time Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill and Kamlesh Nagarkoti were part of a playing XI together was in the final of the Under-19 World Cup in January 2018.
This was not a tough statistic to verify. Simply because Nagarkoti has only played two more competitive matches since that win against Australia in Mount Maunganui: for Rajasthan in the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the two and half years since, he has been battling injuries and a comeback never materialised. As a teenager, he had the world at its feet. All three of them did.
There is a reason why both Mavi and Nagarkoti cost KKR more at the 2018 auction than Gill (Rs 1.8 crore) did. He might have been the star with the bat at the World Cup that Prithvi Shaw and Co won unbeaten, but Indian pacers are at a premium at these auctions and…