Abhimanyu Mithun (born 25 October 1989) is an Indian former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, Mithun was called up to the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

squad for the first Test against

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in 2009–10, only ten weeks after making his first-class debut. He has also played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore. In November 2019, he became the first bowler to take a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in all three domestic formats of top-level cricket in India. In first class cricket, he played for

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, before retiring from the format in October 2021.

Playing career

As a teenager, Mithun was a avelinthrower, competing at state-level. Despite training at his father's gym throughout his teens, he failed to progress with his discus throwing, and a friend suggested that he join a cricket camp. Until the age of 17, he hadn't bowled with a leather ball. Royal Challengers Bangalore's head coach Ray Jennings eulogised about him, describing him as an "express bowler", but he had a quiet IPL. His first-class debut reinvigorated the potential; he claimed six wickets in the first innings, followed by five wickets in the second, including a

. During the ensuing season, he displayed his credentials, claiming another five-wicket haul, and taking 47 wickets to finish as the highest wicket-taker in the 2009–10 Ranji Trophy. His call-up to the India national cricket team to replace the injured Sreesanth came little more than ten weeks after his first-class debut, but his Karnataka coach Sanath Kumar was not surprised; "From day one we knew he had the potential, he has the pace, bowling around 140 km/h, and he has performed in every game, whether it is junior cricket or first-class cricket. He made his debut in

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s in the third and final one day match against

in the 2010 season. His Test debut was against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

on 18 July 2010, at Galle, in which he claimed four wickets. He batted at No. 11 in the first innings, but after looking more solid than his fellow bowlers, he was promoted to No. 9 in the second innings and scored 25. However, he was not provided further opportunities in the Indian squad. In the 2015 Indian Premiere League, it was announced that he would be playing for

Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indians were founded in 2008 and are owned by India's largest Conglomerate (company), co ...

as a good death bowler. In July 2018, he was named in the squad for India Red for the 2018–19 Duleep Trophy. In October 2019, in the final of the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he took a

, with Karnataka going on to win the match. In November 2019, in the first semi-final of the 2019–20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, between Haryana and Karnataka, he took five wickets in one over, including a

. On 7 October 2021, Mithun retired from first-class cricket.

Personal life

Abhimanyu Mithun married Rayane, the daughter of actress Radhika Sarathkumar on 28 August 2016. Their wedding was attended by the cricket and politics fraternity. They had a son on 7 June 2018 who they named Tarak and a girl on 18 March 2020, who they named Radhya derived from his wife's mother's name.

References

External links

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Abhimanyu Mithun
s profile page on Wisden
Abhimanyu Mithun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mithun, Abhimanyu 1989 births Indian cricketers India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers Karnataka cricketers Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen South Zone cricketers India Green cricketers India Red cricketers Living people Cricketers from Bengaluru