The Sunrisers Hyderabad pace sensation Praful Hinge had made his debut against the Rajasthan Royals and scripted history with his very first over of the game. He was initially all set to make his debut against the Punjab Kings, but skipper Ishan Kishan used Jaydev Unadkat as the impact sub instead. Praful Hinge became the first player in the history of the IPL to pick 3 wickets in the first over on debut. He was awarded the Player of the Match award for picking 4 wickets and giving away just 34 runs from his 4 overs.

Praful Hinge was asked if he had ever dreamt about the moment, and he claimed that he had manifested his bowling spell before the game. Praful claimed that he was keen on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s wicket as he was in excellent form and proceeded to dismiss the batter for a golden duck. However, Praful Hinge had to go through many phases at different places to become the bowler he is today.

Praful Hinge’s journey reflects resilience, technical evolution, and the making of India’s next pace sensation

“In 2023, we selected him. He had a back injury at that time. And then, first, we thought we'd have to do the rehab and get him stronger with fitness. And then we started analysing why that back problem happened. Then we realised there was a technical issue, and we fine-tuned his technique. And then, which helped him work better, and his injury probably did not recur,” said Senthilnathan, head of cricket affairs at the MRF Pace Foundation.

In 2023, Praful Hinge had a lower-back injury when he was selected by the MRF Pace Foundation. The coaches had identified a technical issue in his bowling style, and then they tuned his technique to avoid the injury. Praful was then sent back to his state, and the coaches helped him to adjust his line and lengths. They highlighted that Praful Hinge’s strength has been to bowl at a tight line and length. The Foundation had also recognised his potential and sent him to train at the High Performance Centre in Brisbane.

So we took him to Australia, Cricket Australia, where they have the high-performance centre in Brisbane. So he got trained there for a couple of years as well. And so that's another exposure for him. In 2025, he was totally fit and then really worked hard on his fitness, making him stronger. Glenn McGrath adds so much value by telling the bowlers about the importance of bowling into the right areas and creating pressure for the batters. He told him that with every ball, you can't get a wicket. And how to come out at a pressure stage on the ground. That is very important because that man has experienced himself,” added Senthilnathan.

Also Read | Virat Kohli’s influence on the RCB extends beyond the cricket field

Glenn McGrath is the director of Cricket at the MRF Pace Foundation, and he has worked personally with Praful Hinge. He emphasised the mindset of a bowler and that you can’t get a wicket off every delivery. McGrath taught Praful Hinge to be consistent with his lengths and to build pressure on the batter rather than just raw pace.

Praful Hinge is a promising young talent for the country, and he will be looked up to by the selectors. With such talent, he will have to make sure that he is able to deliver consistently for his side. Praful Hinge could be the new pace bowling sensation of India if he keeps his performance at the same level.