The name Shivang Kumar is trending across cricket platforms and fan forums, and for very good reason. In a league known for producing overnight stars, the IPL introduced the cricketing world to this fresh face when he made his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026, bought at a modest base price of Rs 30 lakh.
By the end of that match, he had already become one of the most talked about names in the tournament.
Shivang Kumar Age and Early Life
Shivang Kumar was born on 26 May 2002 in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. That makes him 23 years old and already performing on one of the biggest stages in world cricket. His path to that stage was never straightforward. There was a time in his early days when he lost interest in the game entirely and quit the sport at 13, but after his brother advised him to watch the MS Dhoni biopic, he decided to give cricket another go.
He returned and scored 98 in his very first local match back, and from that moment, the game had him for good.
Shivang Kumar Cricketer Father Name and Family
The family story behind Shivang Kumar’s rise is one of the most compelling in this IPL season.
His father, Praveen Kumar, is a senior ticket collector with Indian Railways who once aspired to become a cricketer himself, having played Under-19 cricket for Bengal before giving up due to family circumstances.
One of Praveen’s boldest decisions was converting Shivang from a right-arm bowler to a left-arm spinner despite his natural right-handedness, a decision Shivang later described as transformative.
Father and son now share one dream, to see Shivang represent India.
Shivang Kumar IPL Team and the Auction Story
At the Shivang Kumar IPL auction, he had attended trials with several franchises including Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals, all of which gave him positive feedback. Sunrisers Hyderabad scouted him carefully and secured his services at his base price.
The SRH management saw something in the young spinner that most others had overlooked.
Shivang Kumar Bowling Role and Playing Style
- His playing role is that of a bowling allrounder.
- He bowls left-arm wrist spin and bats right-handed, making him a genuine two-dimensional talent.
- Left-arm wrist spinners are rare in Indian cricket, and those who can also bat are rarer still.
- In the Madhya Pradesh Premier League 2025, he scored 91 runs off 42 balls in just his second match while also picking up five wickets in four innings at an economy of 7.21.
Shivang Kumar Stats and Recent Wickets
The Shivang Kumar stats that first put him on the map came from the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He picked up 10 wickets in just three games at an average of 14.30 and an economy of 5.16, including a Player of the Match performance against Karnataka where he returned figures of 5 for 45.
In IPL 2026, his numbers have continued to impress.
- On his debut against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, his delivery directly triggered the run out of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who had scored 52 off 29 balls, turning the match decisively in SRH’s favour.
- Then, against Punjab Kings on April 11, he dismissed Priyansh Arya for 57 off 20 balls, then removed Prabhsimran Singh right after his fifty, and followed it up with the wicket of Cooper Connolly, finishing with figures of 3 for 33 as the standout bowler for SRH.
Why Shivang Kumar Is a Name to Remember
Whether you find him through his Wikipedia page, his stats on a cricket tracker, or a deep-dive feature, the story reads the same.
A 23-year-old from a railway colony in Moradabad, shaped by a father who sacrificed his own cricketing dream, is now delivering wickets in the IPL with the confidence of someone who has been waiting for this moment his whole life.
Shivang Kumar is not just a cricketer to watch this season. He is one to follow for years to come.
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Lucky Raina is a complete cricket writer chasing corporate dreams by day and cricket stories by night. Once a promising Under 16 cricketer, life took him down a different pitch but the love for the game never left.
