My father really loved MS Dhoni, I wish he could watch me play for CSK: Rajvardhan Hangargekar

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made some shrewd buys at the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. While the four-time champions once again invested heavily on experienced and managed to get back a number of their former players back, they also roped in some of the talented Indian youngsters.

CSK bought India U-19 all-rounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar as well at the mega auction after beating Mumbai Indians to his signing for a sum of Rs 1.5 crore (INR 15 million). One of the heroes of India U-19's title-winning campaign in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2021, Hangargekar has seen a lot of hardships in life at a tender age but is well on his way to realising his dream of playing for India one day.

Hangargekar was only 17 when he lost his father to COVID-19 during the first lockdown in the year 2020. However, he showcased great determination and picked himself up amidst the misery to focus on what he loved - cricket. The youngster, who hails from the Osmanabad district of Maharashtra, carved out a pitch of his own to train and practice fast bowling on his farm at his village.

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The 19-year-old, who recently lifted the U-19 World Cup trophy with the Yash Dhull-led Indian team, said he always knew what he wanted to do and that he had already decided his goals after his father's shocking demise. Hangargekar admitted it was a tough phase for him but he decided to go after his goals and work as hard as he could to make it to the India U-19 side.

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"Tough phase for me [but I told myself], 'Okay, I have to accept what has happened but I can't just keep sitting and put myself in a bad frame of mind'. So I knew what I had to do. It was tough for me to go out there and practice again with the same intensity and all that. I had already decided my goals. I knew what I wanted to do,"Hangargekar told Cricbuzz.

An all-rounder, who can clock impressive pace and can also be a handy batter lower down the order, Hangargekar will get to learn from some of the best in the business at CSK, including captain MS Dhoni. The CSK skipper has made superstars out of several young cricketers in a stellar captaincy career spanning around 15 years.

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Hangargekar revealed his late father was a huge admirer of Dhoni - the skipper and the way he runs the game from behind the stumps. One of te most successful captains in the history of IPL, Dhoni has led CSK to four titles and a staggering nine finals since 2008. The India U-19 star said he is looking forward to playing for CSK and get to learn from Dhoni at the franchise.

"He was really good guy, he always wanted me to be an international player, I wish he was watching me playing for CSK, because he really loved the way Dhoni handled the game, he really loved how calm Dhoni is in tough situations, he was also a calm person in a lot of tough situations. I'm really keen to work with CSK and MS Dhoni," saidHangargekar.