New Delhi: For many young cricketers, the safe route is often obvious. If you’re a good hitter, you still hit. If you are a left-arm spinner, you keep playing the ball. Shivang Kumar chose differently.All-rounders Bundelkhand Bulls in the Madhya Pradesh League (MPLT20) knew early on that just being good might not be enough in modern cricket. To make a mark, he felt he needed something different—something that would force people to notice.“As a batsman, I thought I was a very good batsman. Besides, I always wanted to help the team and I always thought about what I could contribute. You know how to pick wickets, be an all-rounder. The demands of the game are different now. Normal doesn’t work; you need two or three colors as a plate. So I became Chinese and fixed my carrom ball. Then I worked my googly which produced a very good combination,” he told TimesofIndia.com when contacted.The change was not straightforward. The natural batsman turned left-arm spinner raised doubts. There were times when people close to him doubted whether he was making the right choice.“Yes, it (objections) came many times. People around me used to say that this is only ruining your career. You have to focus on your batting. You spin the left arm well, but I knew that this was not enough. If I will be like others, who will give me a chance at the top. So, I found the benefit of having different ideas and thinking outside the box. And I managed to do it well. “That desire to be different was not created only by cricket. It was reinforced at home, where his parents often saw his future through different lenses.While his mother worried about education and the uncertainty that comes with playing sports, his father, the Chief Inspector of Tickets in the Indian Railways, supported the dream of cricket.“My mother is a teacher. She loved education. And my father was in sports. So there were many conflicts between the two,” he said.“Then my father used to say that now he should stop playing. Now stop thinking about cricket. He will learn, he will finish. This argument continued.”
The demands of the game are different now. Normal does not work. You need two or three different dishes. So I became Chinese and fixed my carrom ball
Shivang Kumar
Devotions to his family remain central to Shivang’s story. The hours spent visiting matches and training sessions often come with stress and anxiety at home.Sure, there was a cricket connection at home. Praveen Kumar, his father, played U-19 cricket for Bengal before working with the Indian Railways.The father made sure that his son continued to play cricket even as a career in the Railways presented itself.It helped him enter various competitions. He showed explosive batting in MPLT20 2025 for Bhopal Leopards which earned him a blockbuster prize of Rs 13 lakh from Bundelkhand Bulls.
Shivang Kumar scored the fastest fifty in MPL in the recent match between Bundelkhand Bulls and Malwa Stallions. (Instagram)
Not just batting, bowling also does magic. He picked 10 wickets, including a fifer against Karnataka, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He took eight wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.His work with bat and ball saw Sunrisers Hyderabad splashing Rs 30 lakh on him upfront. IPL 2026. In 13 matches, he took nine wickets, including 3/33 against Punjab Kings.“When I travel, they complain. And my mother used to ask for more. So, now I hope that I have been able to justify their struggle. I have been able to justify their sacrifice. I will continue to do more. That’s all I hope for,” said 24-year-old Shivang.If his parents disagreed along the way, his father and brother played major roles in helping shape the cricketer he would eventually become.
Shivang Kumar (R) with his father Praveen. (Photo by special arrangement)
“Firstly, I want to give a big credit to my brother. I wasn’t too keen in the beginning that I should do this or move on. But there was a need for the game because a left-arm spinner usually can’t bowl against a left-armer. Because leftists like to rule. So I made a carrom ball for that. Then carrom ball became a good fortune for me. Then I continued to grow from there.“His father, meanwhile, saw the potential of combining top-class batting with unusual bowling skills.“My father still says that you do not justify your skill, that if you are such a good batsman you should score runs, you are making chinaman bowling, a rare team in this cricket world. The combination you have at this time. My father used to say 2-3 years ago that I have become a special mix. That there is no one else in the world like you. I carried forward my father’s vision.”The inspiration also came from watching players who could influence the game in a number of ways. One common name — Hardik Pandya.
SRH spinner Shivang Kumar during IPL 2026. (BCCI Photo)
“And I feel good because I also think how can I be different. Because when I saw Hardik Pandya in his early days, he was very different. When he came to bat, he looked like a batsman. And when he was a bowler, he looked like a bowler. I wanted to do the same with my team. I wanted to be more important to the team. So that was the only vision in my mind. And hopefully in the next 5 years, I can justify my skills.“His rise has taken him from domestic cricket to the IPL, where he has found himself sharing dressing rooms with the biggest names in the game. The experience, he says, has been steady and not overwhelming.“It’s a humbling experience about it. No one gets a chance soon… the people around me are good and they tell me not to have any thoughts and just stick to my strengths and work. God has given you a chance, he chose you and you have to respect it. Be thankful to God that you are getting a good platform and the people around you believe in you.”Back home, Shivang believes that the MPL has played a major role in creating opportunities for players in Madhya Pradesh, including him.Proving that he was no one-trick pony, he blasted a 65-ball 17 against Malwa Stallions earlier this month in the MPL. His seven fours and four sixes, after taking two wickets in the first innings, ensured that the Bundelkhand Bulls reached the target of 216 runs with 5 balls to spare.“I mean I’m also very thankful to MPL, the way this new talent is coming out, I didn’t know MP had such talent. Until last year, I was also an artist. But after coming here from IPL, I see how good the talent is. And the MPL, which I think is the top league. Many talents come out here. “As more players from the state get opportunities at the highest level, Shivang sees it as proof that the system is working.“And 10-12 MP players were in different IPL teams this time. So it’s a matter of great respect. 10-12 IPL players are coming out of MP. And they are playing. And they are also the main players in their teams. So there are good things going on with MPL. “For Shivang, however, the journey is not over. The batsman did this because he believed that standing still was the only way forward. The challenge now is to ensure that novelty translates into success.
