Praveen Kumar

Perhaps its Praveen Kumar’s dual ability to take wickets and restrict an outflow of runs that has made the UP-born bowler a regular in limited overs cricket for the Indian cricket team, since his debut in late 2007. Unlike teammates Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma, Kumar’s forte is variation coupled with precision in line and length, depending purely on natural bowling speed than aiming to exert harder for additional pace.

Praveen’s career highlight would easily be two bowling spells with 4-fors Down Under against Sri Lanka and Australia, both in 2008, in merely his 3rd and 5th ODI outings. Tidy performances for Bengaluru in the Indian T20 League added to his growing repute. As a dangerous pinch-hitter lower down the order, it’s a rare all-round combination once reminiscent in Robin Singh - Kumar’s forerunner in the all-rounder department. The latter, like Kumar now, was regarded as an ODI specialist. For the immediate future at least, that status quo doesn’t look like it will budge for Praveen Kumar but the UP lad will do all that he can to change that.