Full biography of Praful Hinge — Vidarbha’s rising fast bowler, SRH IPL 2026 star, and the pacer who took a historic triple-wicket maiden over on debut. Age, stats & story inside.
Praful Hinge is one of Indian cricket’s most exciting young fast bowlers. A right-arm medium-fast seamer from Nagpur, he represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket and burst onto the national stage with a stunning IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad in April 2026. In his very first over of IPL cricket, he took three wickets — becoming the first bowler in 19 years to achieve that feat in an IPL opening over.
His story is not one of overnight success. Praful spent years correcting an illegal bowling action, training at elite academies in Chennai and Brisbane, and grinding through domestic cricket before getting his big opportunity. When it came, he was ready.
Quick Facts About Praful Hinge
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Praful Prakash Hinge |
| Date of Birth | January 18, 2002 |
| Age (as of 2026) | 24 years old |
| Place of Birth | Nagpur, Maharashtra, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Batting Style | Right-hand bat |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm medium-fast |
| Domestic Team | Vidarbha |
| IPL Team | Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) |
| IPL Price | ₹30 lakh (IPL 2026 Auction) |
| First-Class Wickets | 27 wickets in 10 matches (avg. 26.7) |
| Role Models | Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav |
Early Life and Family Background
Praful Prakash Hinge was born on January 18, 2002, in Nagpur — a city with a deep cricketing culture, located in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. He grew up in a humble household where cricket was less a profession and more a dream nurtured on local grounds.
Interestingly, Praful did not start out as a bowler. His early instinct was to bat, and he spent his formative years at the crease rather than with the ball in hand. It was his father, Prakash Hinge, who changed everything. Prakash urged his son to try fast bowling instead, and that single piece of fatherly advice turned out to be a career-defining moment.
By his own admission, Praful only began playing leather ball cricket around the age of 13. The transition was not smooth — he struggled early on with control and was flagged for an illegal bowling action. Rather than letting that derail him, he threw himself into intensive training to correct his action and develop a clean, repeatable bowling rhythm.
Cricket Academy Training and Development
At the age of 16, Praful joined the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Academy, where he trained under coach Sanjeev. His talent became impossible to ignore almost immediately. During Under-19 trials, he picked up an astonishing 36 wickets — a performance that marked him as a serious pace bowling prospect and opened the door to age-group cricket.
A pivotal moment in his development came when he watched Vidarbha lift the Ranji Trophy in 2017-18. That triumph ignited a burning ambition in the young pacer to one day represent the same team at the highest domestic level.
Since 2022, Praful has been training at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai — the same prestigious academy that shaped some of India’s finest fast bowlers over the decades. It was here that Varun Aaron, now SRH’s bowling coach, first noticed his potential. Hinge has credited the foundation for helping him through injuries and technical refinements.
In 2024, he went a step further, attending a 15-day high-performance camp at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, Australia. During this camp, he trained alongside international stars including Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson. That exposure gave him a technical and mental edge that few domestic seamers at his level possess.
Domestic Cricket Career
Praful made his first-class debut for Vidarbha against Puducherry in October 2024, and he immediately made an impression as a hit-the-deck specialist capable of extracting bounce and movement on subcontinental pitches.
In the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, he was part of the Vidarbha squad that won the title, beating Kerala in the final. He contributed 11 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 27.09 during that title-winning campaign. The following season — Ranji Trophy 2025-26 — he became a more regular feature, playing 6 matches and taking 16 wickets in 11 innings at an average of 26.37, with a best of 4/60.
He made his List A debut in January 2025 against Mizoram in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 2025-26 season proved a breakthrough across all formats. He was a vital member of the Vidarbha side that won the maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title in January 2026, defeating Saurashtra by 38 runs in the final. During the tournament, he troubled Hardik Pandya in a group stage game against Baroda, finishing with disciplined figures of 1/47.
His T20 debut came in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in December 2025, and he made an immediate impact — claiming 15 wickets in just 7 matches, emerging as a premier wicket-taking threat in the competition. By early 2026, Praful had accumulated 27 wickets in 10 first-class matches at an average of 26.7.
IPL 2026 — A Debut for the Ages
Praful Hinge’s breakthrough arrived at the IPL 2026 auction in December 2025, when Sunrisers Hyderabad picked him up at his base price of ₹30 lakh — having gone unsold the previous year. He stepped into an SRH pace attack that already featured Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, and Jaydev Unadkat.
He was initially named on the Impact Sub bench for SRH’s game against Punjab Kings but did not play. When his chance finally came against Rajasthan Royals on April 13, 2026, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Praful took it with both hands.
In his very first over of IPL cricket, he dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius — three wickets in a maiden opening over. It was the first time in 19 years that any bowler had taken three wickets in the first over of an IPL match. He finished the game with 4 wickets, helping SRH post 216 on the back of Ishan Kishan’s 91, before sharing eight wickets with fellow debutant Sakib to end Rajasthan’s four-match winning streak.
After the match, Praful credited his idols — Pat Cummins and Umesh Yadav — as inspirations for his bowling style. He also referenced his time at the MRF Pace Foundation and his Brisbane training camp as foundations for that performance.
Bowling Style and Strengths
Praful Hinge is classified as a right-arm medium-fast bowler who hits the deck hard and generates sharp bounce. His main strengths include his ability to extract movement on subcontinental surfaces, his seam position, and an expanding range of variations including the wobble seam delivery.
Away from matches, he studies bowling strategies extensively, analysing how bowlers approach difficult batters. His dedication to craft, combined with elite-level training environments, has accelerated his development well beyond his years.
Net Worth and IPL Earnings
As a young domestic cricketer signed at his base price, Praful Hinge’s IPL 2026 contract is worth ₹30 lakh. His overall net worth remains modest at this early stage of his career, but a standout debut performance and growing domestic reputation are likely to significantly increase his market value at future IPL auctions. BCCI domestic match fees and his MRF association also contribute to his income.
Final Thoughts
Praful Hinge’s journey from a batting-oriented youngster on Nagpur’s local grounds to an IPL debutant who stopped Rajasthan Royals in their tracks is the kind of story that reminds cricket fans why they love the sport. He overcame an illegal bowling action, grinding injuries, and years of domestic obscurity to arrive at the biggest stage — and then delivered one of the most memorable debut performances in recent IPL history.
With Pat Cummins and Varun Aaron guiding him at SRH, and the MRF Pace Foundation behind him, Praful Hinge has every resource needed to fulfil his enormous potential. Keep watching this Nagpur boy — he is just getting started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Who is Praful Hinge?
Praful Hinge is a 24-year-old Indian right-arm medium-fast bowler from Nagpur who represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He became a household name after taking three wickets in his very first over on IPL debut in April 2026.
Q2: What is Praful Hinge’s IPL team and price?
Praful Hinge plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2026. He was bought at his base price of ₹30 lakh during the IPL 2026 auction in December 2025, having gone unsold in the previous auction cycle.
Q3: What did Praful Hinge do on his IPL debut?
On his IPL debut against Rajasthan Royals on April 13, 2026, Praful took three wickets — Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius — in his very first over. He finished with 4 wickets in total, the first bowler in 19 years to take three wickets in an IPL opening over.
Q4: Where is Praful Hinge from?
Praful Hinge is from Nagpur, Maharashtra, in the Vidarbha region of India. He represents Vidarbha in domestic first-class, List A, and T20 cricket.
Q5: What academies has Praful Hinge trained at?
Praful has trained at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Academy, the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai since 2022, and attended a high-performance camp at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, Australia in 2024, where he trained alongside Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson.
Q6: What are Praful Hinge’s domestic cricket stats?
As of early 2026, Praful has taken 27 wickets in 10 first-class matches at an average of 26.7. He also claimed 15 wickets in 7 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 matches in the 2025-26 season, establishing himself as one of Vidarbha’s most potent pace options.
Q7: Who are Praful Hinge’s cricket idols?
Praful Hinge has cited Australian captain Pat Cummins and Indian fast bowler Umesh Yadav as his primary cricketing inspirations. His bowling style reflects a similar hit-the-deck approach combined with smart variations.
