Praveen Kumar
Full name Praveen Kumar
Born October 2, 1986, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Current age 24 years 109 days
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Major teams India, Air India, India Red, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh
Praveen Kumar Profile
Praveen Kumar had everything to become a domestic cricket legend: limited pace but ability to swing the ball both ways, persistence to bowl long spells, and an almost intuitive knowledge of how to take wickets on unresponsive Indian wickets. But he took his limited pace and remarkably smart application of that ability to a higher level, claiming 10 wickets in four matches in his debut ODI series, including a match-winning spell against Australia in the final of the 2007-08 CB Series.
For two seasons before his ODI debut he had been Uttar Pradesh's go-to man in Ranji Trophy. In his first first-class season, also UP's championship season, he was easily the player of the year: 41 wickets and 386 runs, four five-fors, one 10-for, and three half-centuries. Whenever UP were in trouble, they could turn to Praveen, and sure enough something would happen. His consistency - 90 wickets in his first two first-class seasons - got him into reckoning for the national side. And although he has not made himself a fixture in the side, he has never been far from the selectors' radar. He is also one of the strike bowlers for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Fast Facts
* In the Commonwealth Bank Series 2007/08, Praveen Kumar had the best wickets-to-matches average for any bowler in the series with 10 wickets in 4 matches.
* He was the only player to scalp a hat-trick in IPL 3, and was the 7th bowler overall to achieve the feat in the tournament.
* Along with Liam Plunkett and Kyle Mills, Kumar became the third bowler to dismiss the dangerous Aussie trio of Gilchrist, Ponting and Clarke in a single ODI match.
