IPL 2026 | The Chennai connection behind Praful Hinge's historic SRH debut

CHENNAI: Praful Hinge scripted Indian Premier League (IPL) history by picking up three wickets in his first-ever over for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday. Hailing from Nagpur, he plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

But did you know there is a Chennai connection to his success?

Since his Under-23 days, the youngster has been training here in the city, under the watchful eyes of the troika of M Senthilnathan, Glenn McGrath and Varun Aaron at the fabled MRF Pace Academy.

Having been discovered at Vidarbha’s Under-16 setup, it was former Indian pacer Prashant Vaidya who pushed Praful to join the academy.

"I am not a pushy father. Once Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) took note of my son, I trusted them,” Praful’s father, Prakash Hinge told PTI.

"Prashant Vaidya sir, a former India bowler, who was with VCA suggested that Praful should go and train at MRF Pace Academy under expert technical coaches," Prakash recalled.

"No matter how much I thank MRF Pace foundation, Senthil sir, Varun sir, it would not be enough. If he has reached this stage to play IPL, it is to their credit. Also, Glenn McGrath gave Praful a lot of confidence, and he went to Brisbane to train with High Performance coaches," the proud father said.

Senthilnathan, who heads the cricket affairs at the MRF Pace Foundation, traced the growth of the Vidarbha youngster.

"When he came to us in 2023, he had a back stress problem, and we took care of it first. Basically, he has a beautiful line and length. But to put that into use, we needed to work on his fitness," Senthilnathan, head of cricket affairs at the Foundation, told the news agency.

"...we needed to identify why that (back injury) happened, and we worked on his (bowling) technical base. That's how pressure stopped hitting his back. Then we worked on his bowling areas, and it was a six-month programme. We got him fit and ready for the 2023 domestic season. He did well," he recalled.

The former Tamil Nadu batter credited Australian legend Glenn McGrath, the Foundation's director of coaching, for assisting Praful with that.

"McGrath is the best, probably, in the world when it comes to the tactical part. He has the idea on what's the length to be bowled, what's the line to be bowled. How to use new and old balls.

"And more importantly, how to handle the pressure of a big game. If they hit you for a six, then you have to come hard in the next ball. You can't keep sitting on the six. These are the things taught by McGrath, which definitely will help his work," said Senthilnathan.

It wasn’t just Praful who trained at the fabled academy; his fellow IPL debutant, Sakib Hussain, also made his presence felt there. The youngster from Bihar, who has previously been part of both Chennai Super Kings (net bowler) and Kolkata Knight Riders (player), ripped the Rajasthan Royals’ batting unit apart on Monday, with figures of 4/24 on his debut.

"Apart from Praful, other SRH bowlers like Sakib Hussain and Eshan Malinga have also trained extensively at the Foundation. So, as a coach, it's a delight to see for all of us, but also a motivation for other bowlers at the Foundation to go and do bigger things in their career," Senthilnathan concluded.