Hinge, Hussain and the Odisha connect

While Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain were wreaking havoc on Rajasthan Royals, the echo of their combined success was being felt nearly a thousand kilometres away from the city of Hyderabad. A group of 60-70 aspiring cricketers in the tiny Infocity area of Patia in Bhubaneswar were rooting for the two IPL debutants and the noise levels at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Upal may well have been matched by these young cricketers in Bhubaneswar.

The Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar connection here really is a fascinating one. Hinge (24) and Hussain (21) had a long stint at the Rao Cricket Academy, a residential facility on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar run by SS Rao, a former Jharkhand player and coach. The two players were identified for special training by Varun Aaron, the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach. Having played with and under Rao during his time with the Jharkhand team in domestic cricket, Varun sent them to the academy of Rao. Rao coached Jharkhand for five years.

"Yes, Varun had sent them there to work on areas he had identified under the supervision of Rao. He trusts Rao, and it has now turned out to be a good, thoughtful decision," said a Sunrisers Hyderabad official. It being an off-day for the SRH team, who beat Rajasthan Royals by 57 runs on Monday, Varun and the two bowlers could not be reached, but Rao confirmed taking them under his wing.

"They were here for about a month in February-March and left a week to 10 days before the start of the IPL. They stayed in our academy hostel, and the bonding with other players became so close that the entire academy celebrated their success yesterday," Rao, who played 53 first-class matches between 2001 and 2014, told Cricbuzz.

Rao himself was a fast bowler, and evidently knows the tricks of the trade. Besides, clearly he has a good professional equation with Varun, who trusted his coaching skills and left the two boys in his hands.

"The decision was taken immediately after the two were purchased at the auction. They trained there for almost a month. In between, they went to Chennai for a brief stint, but most of their pre-season training happened here," reveals Rao, who started the residential cricket facility in Bhubaneswar in 2023. Of all the Sunrisers Hyderabad domestic players, only Hinge and Hussain were identified by Varun for the Bhubaneswar stint, indicating his confidence in their abilities.

There were specific areas in which the two trained. Rao would not discuss those, but said he had seen a deep hunger and desire in both to make their mark in the league.

"After what happened last night, it is easy to say that they were determined to do well. The hunger that I saw in their approach to leave a mark was unmatched. Other players would prepare to do well when the opportunity came their way, but these two were looking for that opportunity. They would train so hard that there were days when I had to stop them. That was the difference."

Both right-arm pacers, Hinge is from Vidarbha and Hussain, from a very humble background, hails from Bihar. Both have played first-class cricket for their states, but T20 seems to be their calling. They were bought at their base prices of INR 30 Lakh at the IPL auction, and have announced their arrival in the IPL with a thunderous bang.

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