Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Praful Hinge, center, celebrates the wicket of Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, India, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.) NEW DELHI: When a career hangs in the balance, it often takes more than talent to survive. It takes faith from someone who has seen it all. Glenn McGrath, a man who built his legacy on long length and pinpoint accuracy, became a pillar of strength for young Praful Hinge, stepping in when a back injury threatened to end the dream before it really began.It was a dream debut for Vidarbha and Sunrisers Hyderabad Hinge in the Indian Premier League as he reduced unbeaten Rajasthan Royals to 1/3 during their 217-run chase at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Hinge dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius in his first over. He sent back Royals skipper Riyan Parag in his second over. His spell read: 4-0-34-4.
Watch
Krunal Pandya on RCB’s performance and key turning pointsTwo and a half years ago, Praful suffered a career-threatening back injury. When it looked like his career was over, he found help from Varun Aaron and Australian great Glenn McGrath.Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach Varun Aaron pumped his fists in the dugout as Hinge went through Rajasthan Royals’ top order. Aaron has plenty of reason to celebrate Praful’s success, as does the Hinge household.“Who says dreams never come true? (Who said dreams never come true?),” Prakash Hinge, father of Praful, told TimesofIndia.com from Nagpur.“Varun Aaron came into Praful’s career like an angel. He’s seen too many injuries (Varun’s career has been marred by injuries). When Praful had a stress fracture, we all thought his cricket was over, but Varun took him under his wing and helped him recover. He literally held his hand through that dark phase,” added Hinge senior, who retired from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board a few months ago.After he recovered from his injury, McGrath, the director of coaching at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, invited him to Australia, where Praful trained for three weeks at the Cricket Australia National Cricket Center in Brisbane.“Glenn McGrath, who was impressed by his line and length, took him to Brisbane. All expenses were taken care of by the MRF Pace Foundation. We didn’t have to pay a single penny,” said Prakash Hinge.Former Vidarbha cricketer Ranjit Paradkar, who coached Praful at the U-16 and U-23 levels, said the talent was always there in the youngster.“It was all about the opportunity. After playing age-group cricket for your state, if you haven’t represented India U-19, you need someone to push you and in Praful’s case it was Varun. The boy has also worked really hard. The stress fracture has made him a better bowler. I can see that Varun has made some technical improvements in his run-up, which was during his innings, Hary, who was beautiful during his action. U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy he is playing in the same franchise with him,” said Paradkar.Meanwhile, Prakash Hinge, who attends calls and guests at his home in Nagpur, also credits his son’s stubbornness.“I was a civil servant and my daughter is a chartered accountant. Education was everything for us, but this boy was crazy about cricket from his youth. Clear day, keep playing cricket in the gullies, I was forced to join the academy and then I made this country my home. (He played gully cricket all day. We were forced to enroll him in the academy and since then he has made the country his home),” said Hinge Sr., who now has no regrets about letting his son pursue cricket.
