Naveen babu pk

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium: Praful Hinge had no clue he was carrying a stress fracture. It was only in March 2023, after being selected for a stint at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, that physio Naveen Babu PK broke the news to him - a severe L4 fracture on the left side of his lumbar spine.

Six to eight months of rehab followed, and for Hinge, a young fast bowler from Nagpur, it felt like staring at the end of the road. Fast forward to nearly three years later, and Hinge was steaming in at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, after being handed a debut by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

What followed was the stuff of IPL folklore – with his tall height, clocking above 140 kmph, hitting the deck hard, and extracting steep bounce which few could do, Hinge ripped through Rajasthan Royals by picking four wickets in his first two overs. Three of them - including having teen prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi top-edging to keeper on the very first ball - came in a dream opening over, leaving everyone in a trance.