Kuldeep Sen is an Indian professional cricketer who made his international debut for the country in December 2022 in the first ODI of India’s tour of Bangladesh. He became the 250th cricketer to have represented India in the ODI format and scalped 2 wickets in that low-scoring match. In the Indian domestic circuit, Kuldeep has turned out for his home state of Madhya Pradesh (2018-19-Present) across all formats. In the IPL (Indian Premier League), he has represented the Rajasthan Royals (2022-Present).
Born Name
Kuldeep Rampal Sen
Nick Name
Kuldeep
Kuldeep Sen as seen in an Instagram Post in May 2022 (Kuldeep Sen / Instagram)
Sun Sign
Libra
Born Place
Hariharpur, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India
Residence
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Nationality
Occupation
Professional Cricketer
Kuldeep Sen as seen in an Instagram Post in June 2022 (Kuldeep Sen / Instagram)
Family
Father – Ram Pal Sen (Barber)
Mother – Geeta Sen
Siblings – Rajdeep Sen (Brother) (Policeman), Jagdeep Sen (Brother) (Owner of a coaching center). He has 2 other siblings.
Manager
He has been represented by Fair Play Sports, Athlete Management Agency, New Delhi, India.
Batting
Right-Handed
Bowling
Right-Arm Fast
Role
Bowler
Jersey Number
4 – ODI
22 – Rajasthan Royals (IPL)
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 11 in or 180.5 cm
Weight
78 kg or 172 lbs
Kuldeep Sen as seen in an Instagram Post in September 2022 (Kuldeep Sen / Instagram)
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Toned physique
Side-cropped, side-parted hair
Affable smile
Sports a thin beard
Religion
Hinduism
Kuldeep Sen as seen in an Instagram Post in March 2023 (Kuldeep Sen / Instagram)
Kuldeep Sen Facts
Kuldeep, born into a poor family, started playing cricket when he was just about 8 years old. He was mentored in his developmental years by a renowned local coach named Aril Anthony.
He made his first-class debut for his home state of Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 2018, in the 2018-19 edition of the Ranji Trophy (the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in India). Exactly 20 days later, Kuldeep recorded his maiden 5-wicket haul in first-class cricket in a match against Punjab.
In February 2022, he was acquired at the auction for the upcoming IPL (Indian Premier League) season by the Rajasthan Royals franchise for INR 20 lakhs. Kuldeep played 7 matches that season and picked up 8 wickets which included a sensational spell of 4/20 in 3.3 overs in a mid-season match that helped the Rajasthan Royals defend a middling total (144 runs) by a margin of 29 runs.
In early October 2022, he picked up a match-best 8 wickets (no other player on either side managed more than 5) – 3/41 in 7 overs in the first inning and 5/94 in 19 overs in the second inning – to help ‘Rest of India’ of India defeat Saurashtra by 8 wickets in the Irani Trophy (an annual 5-day match that pits the Ranji Trophy champions of the previous season against a ‘Rest of India’ squad).
Kuldeep’s aforementioned spell of 3/41 was instrumental in ‘Rest of India’ bundling out Saurashtra for just 98 runs in the first inning of the match. Although Saurashtra fought back hard in the rest of the match, they could never really recover from that 1st-day collapse as the ‘Rest of India’ team romped to victory inside 4 days.
The story of how this match was played in October 2022 is quite interesting. Saurashtra won the 2019-20 season of the Ranji Trophy in March 2020; their first-ever title triumph after having lost the final thrice before (2012-13, 2015-16, and 2018-19). Ideally, Saurashtra would have played their Irani Trophy match in February or March of 2021 as the Irani Trophy, since 2013, has been held at the end of the following season of Indian domestic cricket.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the entire 2020-21 season of domestic cricket in India was canceled. Even the following season (2021-22) was heavily curtailed and included a highly compressed version of the Ranji Trophy which was won by Madhya Pradesh; their first-ever Ranji Trophy title. That season did not have an Irani Trophy match, though.
This created confusion regarding the Irani Trophy for the 2022-23 season which was announced by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India, the governing body for cricket in the country) as the first full season of domestic cricket in India since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both Saurashtra and Madhya Pradesh (both 1st-time Ranji Trophy winners) were now laying claim to a place in the prestigious Irani Trophy in the 2022-23 season and to resolve the conflict, it was announced that the season would see the Irani Trophy played twice – at the start of the season (October 2022) with Saurashtra hosting a ‘Rest of India’ squad at their home venue of Rajkot, Gujarat; and at the end of the season (March 2023) with Madhya Pradesh hosting a ‘Rest of India’ squad at their home venue of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
