Rajasthan Royals’s Kuldeep Sen, son of a barber, is IPL’s latest pace sensation

His son’s breakthrough game meant Ram Pal had an unusually hectic start to the week. “I have not got time to eat today. There are a lot of customers today,” Ram Pal said between giving haircuts. “I have been doing this for the past 30 years. I am happy for my son. He has made me proud. I had never supported his passion for the game. I have scolded and even beaten him for playing cricket when he was in school. But he never gave up on his dreams,” Ram Pal, who makes Rs 8,000 a month, said.

Kuldeep Sen’s father Ram Pal Sen at his his small barber shop in Sirmour Chouraha, in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. (Express Photo)

Rajasthan Royals’ head coach Kumar Sangakkara was all praise for Kuldeep.

“I just want to say how impressed everyone, especially I am with how Kuldeep Sen handled his first game; how he bowled, how he thinks… He bowled the hardest over under pressure and did an excellent job for us,” Sangakkara said in post-game comments.

Despite his son’s overnight success, the father’s routine saw no change. Like he does every day, Ram Pal cycled six kilometres from Hariharpur village to Rewa to reach the barber shop. On Sunday night Kuldeep conceded just a single in the first ball of the final over. He held his nerve to bowl three dot balls to Marcus Stoinis, the big-hitting Australian. Stoinis hit a four and a six off the last two balls but it was in vain as Rajasthan Royals won by three runs. Kuldeep owes his career to Aril Anthony, a former Madhya Pradesh Under-19 fast bowler, Ram Pal said.

Kuldeep Sen of Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan Royals got him in the Auction. Potential to be a good across all the game situations. In PP, in middle overs and in death as well. Already got good yorkers. Here is a clip of him nailing yorkers. Yet to see his variations tho. #IPL pic.twitter.com/G2D9hTSGF3

— 🏏CricDomestic🏏 (@CricDomestic_) March 9, 2022

The meager family income meant Kuldeep, one of five children, could not afford a basic cricket kit. “All credit goes to coach Anthony. He took care of everything, from Kuldeep’s training gear, spikes and diet,” Ram Pal said.

Kuldeep Sen with his coach Aril Anthony and fellow MP pacer Ishwar Pandey (Express Photo)

Anthony follows what Australia great Dennis Lillee told him during his stint as a budding pacer at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. “Lillee once said, ‘a talent should not be wasted because of non-cricketing reasons.’ I waived off Kuldeep’s fees,” Antony said.

The coach also did a smart thing to ensure Kuldeep’s career wasn’t derailed early. “He loved to bowl the bouncer but in the process he would chuck once or twice in an over. I never allowed him to go to the trials, even at the district level. One accusation and his career would have been over. It took me four years to correct the action,”Anthony said.

With a remodeled action Kuldeep made his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2018-19 season and bagged 25 wickets in eight matches. Raw pace remains his strength. Kuldeep’s Instagram handle is’150kuldeep’. A few days ago, Rajasthan Royals bowling coach Steffan Jones uploaded an Instagram story of Kuldeep with the caption ‘Fastest on the speed gun!!’ and a fire emoji.

“He is quick but still very raw. He will have to do a lot of hard work. Doing well in IPL is fine, but he should perform consistently in red-ball cricket too. These three months in the IPL is good exposure for him. Playing with the top Indian and foreign cricketers is a big deal itself,” Antony said.

Kuldeep Sen with Rajasthan Royals fast bowling coach Lasith Malinga. (RR Media)

Antony will also be looking for clues to see whether Kuldeep is going back to bad fast bowling habits during the IPL. “When he returned after his debut first-class season, I saw his head was falling, his front leg was landing awkwardly. I immediately asked him why he had changed his action. He replied, ‘sir bounce jyada milta hai.’ (I get more bounce). I told him one injury and his career would be over. Go back to your previous action.”

Antony also advised Kuldeep to do something similar to what he used to when he trained under Lillee in the early 90s. He wants Kuldeep’s mind to soak up advice like a sponge when Rajasthan Royals’ fast bowling coach Lasith Malinga is talking

“Those three years at the MRF Pace academy were the best of my life. I used to write everything down after our training sessions. From wrist position, run-up, head position, front leg, yorkers… I learnt everything from Lillee. Learning from Lasith Malinga is a huge thing.I have instructed him to write down everything that Malinga says during the sessions. This is my homework for him. It will help him in the future.”