The first Test of the 3-match series between India and New Zealand is currently underway at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. The city is located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is easily among the largest and the most populous states in the country.
The Uttar Pradesh cricket team features regularly in the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic first-class tournament and made its first appearance back in 1934. Known as the United Provinces at that point, the team got its present name after the Indian Republic was formed in 1950.
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While many great Indian players like C.K. Nayudu, Lala Amarnath and Syed Mushtaq Ali have represented Uttar Pradesh briefly, the state has also given the country’s cricket some talented cricketers of its own.
Here is a look at some of them who went on to represent the national team:
6. Piyush Chawla
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla is one of the known cricketers from Uttar Pradesh to have played for India at the highest level. Having made his international debut at the tender age of 17 in a Test match against England in 2006, Chawla has represented the national team in 3 Tests, 25 ODIs and 7 T20Is so far.
In a 10-year long career, the leggie’s most special achievement has been the World Cup winners medal which he picked up for being part of Indian squad in the 2011 edition of the tournament. The 27-year old has done decently in the ODI format with 32 wickets in 25 matches including best figures of 4 for 23.
In Tests and T20Is, though, he has claimed 7 wickets and 4 wickets respectively at averages in the high 30s. Piyush Chawla is also a popular face in the IPL and is currently one of the important members of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad.
5. RP Singh
RP Singh is a left-arm medium pacer from Uttar Pradesh who has represented Team India in 14 Tests, 58 ODIs and 10 T20Is since the year 2005. During his early years, the 30-year old showed a lot of promise and was among the brightest young bowlers in Indian cricket.
Singh rose in stature as a limited-overs bowler during the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 as he played a stellar role in India’s title triumph. He picked up 12 wickets in the tournament including match-winning figures of 4 for 11 in a group match against South Africa apart from his 3 for 26 in the final against Pakistan.
The left-armer also performed decently in Test cricket early on in his career but lost steam in due course of time and has been out of contention for the team since 2011. With age still on his side, though, RP Singh can surely be hopeful about the possibility of a career revival.
4. Mohammad Kaif
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif was one of the key architects of India’s transformation as a limited-overs side in the early 2000s alongside the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. The nimble-footed cricketer from Uttar Pradesh became a household name after steering the Indian team to a famous victory in the final of the 2002 NatWest series against England at Lord’s.
As much as his batting, Kaif’s exceptional fielding skills won him a lot of admirers, too. There was a time when the right-handed batsman was being touted for greatness but a combination of dipping performances and selection snubs pushed his career into oblivion.
Mohammad Kaif played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs between the years 2000 and 2006, a period during which he managed to score over 3000 international runs. He has had a more than decent domestic career, though, and was one of the stars for Uttar Pradesh before moving to Andhra last season.
3. Praveen Kumar
Medium-pace bowler Praveen Kumar is one of the top Indian cricketers to have emerged from Uttar Pradesh. Known most for his great ability to swing the ball, the 29-year old has represented the national team across all three formats of the game.
Although he has not played too much Test cricket, Praveen has a very decent record with 27 wickets in just 6 matches at an average of under 26. He was India’s highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets in the 4-0 whitewash that they suffered at the hand of England back in 2011.
Praveen Kumar had limited success in ODI cricket, too, with 77 wickets in the 68 matches that he has played. More than bad performances, it has been the Meerut-born cricketer’s anger management issues which have contributed to him being out of favour for national selection.
2. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The state of Uttar Pradesh has given Indian cricket quite a few talented swing bowlers in recent years and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of them. The 26-year old may not have had as many opportunities in international cricket as he would have liked, but he has managed to perform quite decently in brief career so far.
Bhuvneshwar has played 14 Tests, 57 ODIs and 16 T20Is over a period of nearly 4 years and picked up 35, 60 and 16 wickets respectively. He has been at his best in the T20 format, a proof of which he has shown during the last couple of IPL seasons with fine performances for current champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The medium-pacer recently made a return to the Indian Test squad for their tour of the West Indies and he responded with a five-wicket haul in his comeback match against the host team. Now that he has won back his place in the team, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be looking to hold on to it.
1. Suresh Raina
Destructive middle-order batsman Suresh Raina is quite easily the most popular cricketer to have come out of Uttar Pradesh. The southpaw’s talent was recognised more than a decade ago when he displayed his great hitting ability during the 2004 Under-19 World Cup.
It took him just a year to graduate to international cricket as he made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2005. Although he did not exactly set the cricketing stage on fire in his first 3 years, Raina took his game to another level since 2008 and went on to establish himself as one of India’s best limited-overs batsmen.
The left-handed batsman is the first Indian to score a T20I century and also reach the 1000-run mark in the format. Suresh Raina’s Test career also got off to a bright start with him getting a debut hundred but he never managed to establish his credentials in the longest format of cricket.
Raina was part of India’s ODI World Cup-winning team in 2011 but has been off the selectors’ radar of late in limited-overs cricket, too. However, he will be hoping to force his way back into the Indian team soon.
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