Until Monday evening, Praful Hinge was a nobody. He then made his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad on 13 April 2026.
The 24-year-old right-arm fast bowler from Vidarbha had played just one professional T20 match in his entire career before stepping onto the IPL pitch. He was signed by Hyderabad at his base price ₹30 million, minimum possible. No other franchise is even willing to make a competitive offer.
His Instagram account had around 3,000 followers. His name meant nothing to the average cricket fan. Then came Monday night and 6 balls that changed everything.
Read also | Praful Hinge explains his clinical trap on the first ball for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Sunrisers Hyderabad handed Hinge the new ball against Rajasthan Royals. It was a decision that, on paper, looked like a gamble bordering on recklessness.
Waiting at the crease was arguably the most explosive opening pair in IPL 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The RR batting line-up was intimidating from top to bottom.
Hinge dismissed a single on his first ball. Then off his second delivery, he dismissed Sooryavanshi for a golden duck. The stadium exploded. But Hinge isn’t done yet.
A few balls later, Dhruv cleaned up Jurel. Then, to make an end, he also sent back Lhuan-dre Pretoria; 3 wickets in 6 balls. It was the very first over of the innings. This has never happened before in the history of IPL.
Read also | Praful Hinge: I wrote it somewhere that I will take 4-5 wickets on debut
“I showed it,” Hinge said after the game. “I think I wrote it somewhere last year that in the first game I play I will score 4 or 5 goals.
He also dismissed RR captain Riyan Parag in his second match. At the end of his spell the numbers read: 3 overs, 0 girls, 18 runs, 4 wickets, with 13 dot balls. He won the Player of the Match award as SRH achieved a 57-run victory.
Brand Offers for Praful Hinge: Options
By the time Praful Hinge finished his post-match presentation, his Instagram following had grown from 3,000 to over 1,61,000. This morning, when we checked, it was over 3 million, an increase of over 9900%. According to estimates from the marketing agency Jigsawkraft, things are changing for him financially.
Hinge had roughly 3,000 followers before Monday evening. This puts it firmly in the Nano (1K–10K) category. Brands would pay him between ₹2,000 a ₹10,000 per post if anyone even came close to it. In fact, there was no brand.
Read also | Who is Praful Hinge? The Vidarbha pacer becomes the first bowler to pick three wickets
Now with more than 3 million followers, Hinge has moved into the mid-tier category (100,000-500,000). According to Jigsawkraft data, brands typically rank among medium influencers ₹75,000 a ₹2.5 million per contribution.
For mid-level influencers, one post on Instagram is moving ₹60,000 up to ₹1.8 lakh while the reels are loaded between ₹80,000 a ₹2.5 lakh, according to Jigsawkraft.
Story’s short-term takeover ranges between ₹30,000 a ₹80,000. Larger campaign packages can scale significantly, from ₹1.5 million up to ₹4 lakhs.
An important caveat is that the number of Instagram followers alone does not determine what a brand pays. Engagement, relevance and virality matter immensely.
Hinge’s followers came in one explosive night, which means his engagement, likes, comments and shares relative to followers are now probably very high.
A freshly viral account with a truly enthusiastic following is often more attractive to brands than a mid-level account that has been slowly growing with passive followers.
Given the overnight glory of the IPL, Hinge could realistically command ₹1 lakh up to ₹2.5 million per sponsored post right now. He might demand more if a cricket-adjacent brand approaches him when the hype is at its peak.
