The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, which is taking place in the United Arab Emirates, has been a stage for many debutantes proving their skills for the respective franchises.
One such debutante is Monu Kumar, the Jharkhand pacer who made his first appearance for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing 44th match of this year's IPL.
Kumar was bought by Chennai in 2018, but today's fixture at Dubai International Stadium marks his debut for the franchise.
Here's all you need to know about Monu Kumar:
Monu Kumar was bought by Chennai for Rs 20 lakh. The right-arm medium fast bowler has appeared in 22 T20s for Jharkhand.
Like his skipper MS Dhoni, Kumar also comes from Ranchi. The 25-year-old pacer has represented Bihar and the U-19 Indian cricket teams. With an economy rate of 6.90, Kumar has 25 wickets to his name.
During the 2014 U-19 World Cup, Kumar was part of the Indian squad which travelled to UAE for the tournament. Playing alongside the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav, Kumar had picked four wickets in three matches. He also featured in India's loss against England in the quarter-finals that year.
In the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy's Super League, Kumar picked 12 wickets in eight games which resulted in an IPL contract with CSK for the pacer.
In 10 List-A outings, Kumar has picked 11 wickets. In the shortest format of the game (T20s), Kumar's best bowling figures are four wickets for 14 runs. However, the 25-year-old is yet to make his First-class debut.
In the ongoing match, Kumar bowled two overs in which he gave away 20 runs. He also bowled four extra deliveries.
Bangalore ended their innings with 145 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. Given the number of runs, Chennai will look to complete the chase with ease.
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