Praveen Kumar (, born 2 October 1986) is a former Indian cricketer who bowled right-hand medium-pace. In

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

, he played for

Uttar Pradesh cricket team The Uttar Pradesh cricket team, formerly United Provinces Cricket Team, is a domestic cricket team which is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, run by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. The team competes in the first-class cricket t ...

. He relied on his ability to

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

the ball both ways along with line and length. In October 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Personal life

Kumar was born at Laprana village of Shamli district on October 2, 1986, to a police head constable Sakat Singh Khaiwal and Murti Devi Khaiwal. He married Sapna Choudhary in 2010, she is a national-level Shooting sport player. He owns a farmhouse in Barnava village and Praveen Restaurant and Wedding Banquet in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capi ...

NH-58 This article is about the old number of Delhi-Meerut-Roorkee-Haridwar-Badrinath National Highway. National Highway 58 (NH 58) was a national highway in India before it was renumbered. It linked Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh near New Delhi with B ...

Rohta Road Crossing. He entered politics by joining

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as well. With ...

before the UP assembly. Kumar has had well-documented struggles with stress-related illnesses, which he has worked hard to rectify. According to Cricinfo, he once beat up a doctor after having mud splashed on clothes by said doctor's car as Kumar stepped out of a shop where he had gone to buy a gun. The beating was administered in a glassware shop, which sustained damage. He also tried to commit suicide due to his stress and now he attended counselling and looking forward towards his life.

The Cricketing Lime Light

He was the joint highest wicket-taker in the

2004–05 Vijay Hazare Trophy The 2004–05 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the third season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a List A cricket tournament in India. It was contested between 27 domestic cricket teams of India, starting in January and finishing in April 2005. The final wa ...

, India's domestic 50 over tournament. Praveen Kumar first came to limelight for his performances for India Red in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy 2007.

ODI Debut for India

He made his

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...

cricket debut for the

India national cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the Internation ...

against

Pakistan national cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International C ...

at Sawai Mansingh Stadium,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...

in November 2007. He was later selected for the tri-nation Commonwealth Bank Series in 2008 in Australia against Australia national cricket team and

Sri Lanka national cricket team The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම, ta, இலங்கை தேசிய கிரிக்கெட் அணி) nicknamed The Lions ...

and played an important role in the Indian triumph. He was noted for his swing and his battles against

Ricky Ponting Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...

. He established himself as the premier opening bowler for India in the ODIs from 2008 to 2010. He was selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 but owing to an injury was replaced by Sreesanth.

Test Debut for India

He made his Test debut against

West Indies cricket team The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West Indies. The players on t ...

at Kingston in June 2011. He took a five wicket haul in the first Test match of India tour of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, 2011.

IPL career

Praveen Kumar was initially with the

Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...

until 2010. While at RCB he became the 6th bowler in

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as Tata Group, TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 cricket, T20 Professional sports league organization, franchise cricket Sports league, league of India. It is annually contested by ...

history to take a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

. He did this against the

Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai ...

in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in 2010. In 2008 while playing for RCB in a match against

he hit the joint biggest six in the history of the IPL. The shot which came off the bowling of Yusuf Pathan was measured at 124m in distance equally the record of

Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...

Albie Morkel in the same season. In the

he played for Kings XI Punjab from 2011 to 2013. He was unsold in the 2014 IPL auction owing to high base price. After going unsold in IPL 2014 Auction,

Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest cong ...

signed him as their replacement for the injured

Zaheer Khan Zaheer Khan (born 8 October 1978) is an Indian former professional cricketer who played all forms of the game for the Indian national team from 2000 till 2014. He is a fast-medium left-arm bowler. He was the second-most successful Indian pace ...

. Zaheer, who played six games, was ruled out for the rest of the IPL 2014 season after straining his left

latissimus dorsi muscle The latissimus dorsi () is a large, flat muscle on the back that stretches to the sides, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius on the back near the midline. The word latissimus dorsi (plural: ''latissimi dorsorum'') comes from ...

. He was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in

IPL 2015 The 2015 season of the Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 8 or, for sponsorship reasons, Pepsi IPL 2015, was the eighth season of the IPL, a Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. ...

auctions for a fee of 220 lakh Indian rupees. He then went on to play for Gujarat Lions from 2016 to 2017. This was the last time he featured in IPL.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Praveen 1986 births Living people Indian cricketers India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers India Twenty20 International cricketers Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers Mumbai Indians cricketers Gujarat Lions cricketers Central Zone cricketers Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Uttar Pradesh cricketers Punjab Kings cricketers India Green cricketers India Red cricketers