There are cricketers who arrive in the spotlight with a single tournament and then spend the next several years trying to live up to that moment. Raj Bawa arrived at the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup and produced performances so complete, so rare, that the question was never whether he would reach the IPL.
The question was always when he would turn IPL appearances into IPL moments. At 23, playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, that chapter is still being written. But the backstory behind it is one of Indian cricket’s most layered and compelling.
Raj Bawa Age and Early Life
Raj Angad Bawa was born on November 12, 2002, in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh. The number 12 carries a quiet significance throughout his life. His grandfather Tarlochan Bawa was born on February 12, his idol Yuvraj Singh on December 12, and Raj himself on November 12.
Growing up, he was drawn to theatre, music, and dance before cricket intervened. His life took a sharp turn at the age of 11 after visiting Dharamsala with his dad to watch a cricket match. Something changed in him after that, as his father Sukhwinder describes the moment.
When Chandigarh received BCCI affiliation, the family relocated there, and Raj joined DAV Public School and transferred to UTCA, representing the team ever since.
Raj Bawa Father Name: Sukhwinder Bawa and the Coaching Legacy
His father, Sukhwinder Singh Bawa, is a well-known cricket coach who played a significant role in shaping his early cricketing journey.
Sukhwinder Bawa has coached prominent cricketers including Yuvraj Singh and pacer VRV Singh. He used to play hockey for Haryana’s junior team and in 1988 was even selected for the India U19 camp, but a slipped disc injury at the age of 22 ended his playing career and he became a coach instead. Raj had a coach right at home from the very beginning, which gave him a head start that most young cricketers never get.
His father saw him bowling for the first time at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurugram. Raj was eleven years old and took five wickets in his first match with a leather ball.
Raj Bawa Grandfather
This is where Raj Bawa’s story becomes something genuinely extraordinary. He is the grandson of Trilochan Singh Bawa, a member of the Olympic gold-winning Indian hockey team at the London 1948 Games. This Olympic hockey gold was the first for independent India. Tarlochan Bawa scored one of India’s goals in a 4-0 win over England in the final. Raj never got to meet his grandfather.
When Raj was five, his grandfather Tarlochan Singh died. He grew up on stories of his Olympian granddad narrated by his grandmother and father. Whenever Raj sees that gold medal, he says it gives him goosebumps and he can only imagine how important that achievement must have been back then. That gold medal sits somewhere in the Bawa household as both a relic and a reminder.
Raj Bawa School and the Yuvraj Singh Influence
Though naturally right-handed, Raj chose to bat left-handed early on, partly inspired by Yuvraj Singh, showing both adaptability and willingness to align himself with role models he admired. He still bowls right-arm medium-fast. He also started attending Sukhwinder’s coaching academy where India ace Yuvraj Singh also trained. In Yuvraj, Raj Bawa found a hero. Just like Yuvraj, Raj Bawa also wears the No. 12 shirt. The connection between coach, student, and icon created a triangle of influence that shaped exactly the kind of aggressive, attacking all-round cricketer Raj Bawa became.
Raj Bawa U19 World Cup 2022
Raj Bawa scored 252 runs and took nine wickets in his six outings at the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup. His highest score of 162 not out in 108 balls against Uganda was the highest individual score of the World Cup. It also became the highest individual score by any Indian at the U19 World Cup, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan’s previous record of 155 from 2004. That was only the beginning.
He claimed a historic 5 for 31 in the final against England, earning him man of the match in the title decider. Interestingly, at the London 1948 hockey final, India had also beaten England to win gold. Tarlochan Bawa scored one of India’s goals in that match too. Grandson and grandfather, separated by decades, both delivering in a final against England. It is the kind of sporting symmetry that writes itself.
Raj Bawa Stats: Domestic Cricket Record
The U19 World Cup was the headline, but the domestic record tells the fuller story of a cricketer doing the quiet, consistent work. In the Ranji Trophy, he has amassed over 630 runs at an average above 42, with a top score of 146 against Assam. His bowling has also been effective, securing more than 12 wickets and providing crucial breakthroughs for his team.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he has been a vital contributor, scoring over 300 runs and claiming more than 20 wickets, further strengthening his reputation as a reliable performer in the shortest format. One of his most notable performances came in an unofficial ODI against New Zealand A, where he recorded figures of 4 for 11, underlining his ability to deliver match-winning spells. He made his first-class debut for Chandigarh in February 2022 in the Ranji Trophy, taking a wicket with his very first delivery.
Raj Bawa IPL Career: From Punjab Kings to Mumbai Indians
His IPL journey began when Punjab Kings secured him in the 2022 auction. He was picked up for Rs 2 crore against a base price considerably lower, such was the buzz after the U19 World Cup. Raj Angad Bawa has played 5 matches to date in his IPL career and has scored 19 runs, with an average of 9.50, with his highest IPL score being 11 runs. The numbers do not reflect the potential, but IPL opportunities for young all-rounders depend entirely on team combinations and match situations.
He later moved to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2025 Mega Auction for Rs 30 lakh. MI continued to place their faith in him, retaining him for IPL 2026 and presenting him with a golden opportunity to share the dressing room with Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah to accelerate his growth.
Why Raj Bawa Is a Name That Will Not Stay Quiet
A boy born in a small Himachal Pradesh town who grew up on stories of an Olympic gold medal he never got to see in person. A natural right-hander who switched to batting left-handed because of a hero he had never met. A father whose own playing career was ended by injury but who built an academy that shaped India internationals. A grandson who stood in a World Cup final, bowled England out, and won the title, echoing something his grandfather had done in a different stadium, in a different sport, in a different century. Raj Bawa’s IPL numbers are still being written. But the story behind him was already one for the ages long before the first ball was bowled.
Lucky Raina is a complete cricket writer chasing corporate dreams by day and cricket stories by night. Once a promising Under 16 cricketer, life took him down a different pitch but the love for the game never left.
