Praful Hinge couldn’t have asked for a better start to his IPL career. Trusted by Sunrisers Hyderabad to take the new ball against a Rajasthan Royals side that had been in good touch, the 24-year-old repaid that faith straightaway. His opening over turned the game on its head, as he picked up three wickets in no time, removing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Rajasthan never quite recovered from that early blow. Hinge stayed on target through his spell, kept things tight and ended with four wickets, capping off a memorable debut with the Player of the Match award.
The road to this moment, though, wasn’t something he fully understood in the beginning. He started training seriously around the age of 13, but back then, he had little idea about how the system worked. Like many kids, he believed one could go straight into the Indian team without knowing about the grind through domestic and first-class cricket. With time and experience, that picture became clearer.
Cricket was always close to home. His father had been a fast bowler too and had once dreamt of playing at a higher level, but chose to focus on studies instead and he recently retired from his job at state electricity board. He made sure his son didn’t face the same dilemma and backed him throughout. At the same time, there was a bit of healthy pressure within the family. With his sister doing well in academics, Hinge felt the need to prove himself in his own space. That push, along with the support around him, helped him stay on track and work his way up.
He did face early setbacks, particularly in 2015 when he appeared for the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Under-14 trials but couldn’t make it on his first attempt. However, the youngster didn’t let that disappointment hold him back and instead grew more determined, sharpening his focus on the game.
The Vidarbha pacer has spoken highly of veteran Indian cricketer Umesh Yadav, having shared the dressing room with him in domestic cricket. In an earlier interview, he credited Yadav’s journey as a source of inspiration and said he picked up several valuable lessons from the senior fast bowler.
“Umesh Yadav’s journey inspires me. When I shared dressing room with him, I learned a lot of things. He used to share a lot of stories of his journey, and whenever he used to tell his stories, lagta thaa ki inke jaisa hi banna hain (I felt like I wanted to be just like him). He reached great heights despite having nothing, and that’s inspiring,” Hinge told Lokmat Times Nagpur a couple of months back.
Also Read – Praful Hinge’s popularity surges nearly 40x within three hours of IPL debut: See visual proof
He was picked by SRH for INR 30 lakh and watched the auction at a temple near his home, as he revealed in the same interview. When the Sunrisers raised their paddle, it brought a sense of relief, followed by excitement at the prospect of sharing the dressing room with Pat Cummins, one of his idols.
Varun Aaron a guiding light in Praful Hinge’s career
Meanwhile, He also battled a back injury a couple of years back, that threatened to derail his career, but found timely support in Varun Aaron at the MRF Academy. Aaron, now SRH’s bowling coach, shared his own experiences with injuries and helped rebuild his confidence, playing a key role in his comeback.
During that phase, he received another major lift when pace great Glenn McGrath, director of the MRF Pace Foundation, invited him to Brisbane, where he trained at Cricket Australia’s facilities.
“Legendary Glenn McGrath spotted him and took him to Brisbane in 2022, where he attended a training camp for 20-25 days. All this experience filled him with confidence,” Praful’s father told News18CricketNext.
