The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy threw up another talented youngster from UP on the very first day of the tournament - all-rounder Praveen Kumar.
Praveen Kumar’s all-round show at the Challenger Trophy will put him on the selectors’ radar
MUMBAI: Off late Uttar Pradesh has given lots of talented youngsters like Mohd Kaif, Suresh Raina, RP Singh and Piyush Chawla to Indian cricket.
And all of them have almost lived up to the promise.
The NKP Salve Challenger Trophy being held in Ahmedabad threw up another talented youngster from Uttar Pradesh on the very first day of the tournament - all-rounder Praveen Kumar.
The 21-year-old seamer playing for Mohd. Kaif’s India Red bowled beautifully — taking 4 for 42 and then scoring a fiery 30-ball 37 coming in at No.7 against Virender Sehwag’s India Blue, but his team ended up on a losing note by 12-runs.
In Friday’s match, the all-rounder opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir but managed to score only 15 runs before edging the ball to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel off seamer Pankaj Singh.
His short innings was studded with a six and a boundary. In the first match, Kumar’s victims included three very high profile cricketers like Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik and Ramesh Powar, however, his favourite dismissal was of opener Ajinkya Rahane on the very first ball of the match.
“I enjoyed taking Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket as the ball swung inside and he was clueless,” Kumar told DNA before playing his second match against India Green led by Parthiv Patel on Friday.
The tournament’s is often used to showcase talent and impress selectors suitably to make way in to the Indian side.
By these standards, Kumar has done a good job but he was not satisfied. “It’s good that I took wickets and scored runs. Had our team won the match I would have enjoyed the success more,” said Kumar.
“The wicket was not very helpful for bowlers and I just tried to put the ball in the right areas.”
India has never had a good all-rounder since Haryana Hurricane, Kapil Dev retired.
When questioned whether he believes he can fit into the scheme of things at that level, Kumar said, “I am not thinking on those lines right now. My main aim is to keep improving my performances.”
Kumar, who began his career in the under-19 team alongside RP Singh, Piyush Chawla and Suresh Raina, also went to Kenya and did a decent job with bat as well as the ball in the one-dayers.
Is he insecure because of the competition he faces from Irfan Pathan and Joginder Sharma in the all-round department?
“It’s not that. I am just concentrating on my game and not thinking on those lines. It is good to have healthy competition,” he said.
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