Kumar Kartikeya

Kumar Kartikeya left his home in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, at the age of 15 with just Rs 40 in his pocket to chase his cricketing career. A decade of struggles and sacrifices later, the left-arm spinner is living his IPL dream. Trained by Sanjay Bhardwaj in Delhi, Kumar Kartikeya started as a natural traditional left-arm orthodox spinner but trained himself in wrist spin and variations, which played a huge role in Mumbai Indians drafting him in as a replacement for the injured Arshad Khan during IPL 2022. Kumar Kartikeya made his IPL debut against the Rajasthan Royals that season and dismissed Sanju Samson in his very first over for his maiden IPL wicket. Kartikeya managed 10 wickets from 12 matches for MI before being signed up by the Royals for the IPL 2025 season. The versatile spinner made his List A debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy and was a key player behind MP’s maiden Ranji Trophy win in the 2021-22 season, picking up 32 wickets.