In a country obsessed with cricket, it's not easy being a professional cricketer. Many players come and go and there are just a handful who stay in the limelight. A fitting example is that of Praveen Kumar, a bowler who might not be as quick as some others during his time but one thing which separated him from the rest was his lethal swing.
Praveen Kumar's ability to move the ball both ways made him a captain's favourite but sadly, his international career lasted only for 5 years. So, what happened to a promising pacer and where is he now? Let's start from the very beginning.
Praveen Kumar was born in Meerut on 2 October 1983 and his father was a police head constable. It was only in his late teens that he got into professional cricket, thanks to local coach Sanjay Rastogi who took him under his wing. By the time he turned 19, Meerut knew Praveen as 'Jaadugar' because of his ability to swing the ball a country mile.
He made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2005-06 season and boy, he wreaked havoc. With 41 wickets and 386 runs, 4 fifers, one 10-wicket-haul and 3 half-centuries, Praveen Kumar was by far the player of the season. He scalped a total of 90 wickets in his first two first-class seasons, which caught the eyes of the selectors.
He made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 2007, and despite going wicketless, he was the most economical bowler in that match. Praveen's watershed moment happened during the 2008 tri-nation CB series in Australia, where he got 2 and 4 wickets in the first 2 finals, helping India clinch a memorable series. He quickly became the spearhead of the Indian pace attack and was the premier opening bowler in ODIs from 2008-2010.
He didn't have a long Test career and played just 7 matches in whites. However, Praveen picked up 27 wickets those. He also represented 5 teams in the IPL between 2008 and 2017 and took 90 wickets. He though didn't have a great run in T20Is and the game against South Africa in March 2012 was his last international appearance. In October 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
While 2011 was the golden year in Indian cricket which saw the Men in Blue win the ODI World Cup after 28 years, for Praveen, it was the start of his downfall. Initially selected in the World Cup squad, he missed out on becoming a world champion as the pacer broke down with injury and was eventually replaced by S Sreesanth.
He also battled temperament issues. In 2012, a video of Praveen Kumar went viral where he was seen abusing a fan during a net session in Australia. He was also suspended from the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2013 for using foul language against a batter. As if being short-tempered wasn't enough, alcoholism also tarnished his image.
However, the former India pacer believes that he was unfairly targeted and the accusations were used unjustly to portray him negatively.
"In 2018, I had expected that one of the IPL franchises would sign me as a bowling coach. Forget that; even my own Uttar Pradesh team did not call me to work with the Ranji team. The only reason they had was that I used to drink alcohol. But did I drink on the ground or open the bottle in the dressing room?" Praveen said in one of the interviews in January 2024.
He also revealed that he had mental health issues and had even contemplated suicide due to loneliness but chose to undergo therapy.
"I went into depression. I used to stare at the fan for close to five hours. I was very disheartened to see that nobody was calling me, even after achieving so many things in my career," Praveen added.
He now owns a farmhouse in his village in Uttar Pradesh and a Praveen Restaurant and Wedding Banquet in Meerut. Praveen Kumar also entered politics in 2016 by joining the Samajwadi Party before the UP assembly. He had a mini return to cricket when the ex-India pacer played in Legends League Cricket and Legends Cricket Trophy in 2023.
But a pacer who wowed the crowds with his swing in an otherwise spin-heavy Indian line-up hasn't been associated with cricket at the highest level for a few years now. But his contributions to Indian cricket in a short career are enough to make sure that the swing king will never be forgotten.