New Delhi: When a career hangs by a thread, it needs more than talent to survive. It takes belief from someone who has seen it all. Glenn McGrathA man who built his legacy on length and accuracy, he became a pillar of strength for a young Purflingz when a back injury threatened to end the dream before it truly began.It was a dream debut for Vidarbha and Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler Hinge in the Indian Premier League as he finished unbeaten. Rajasthan Royals 1/3 during his 217-run chase at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Heng dismissed Vibhu Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jorrell and debutant Luan Dre Pretorius in his first over. In his second over, he sent back Royals skipper Ryan Prag. His spell read: 4-0-34-4.
Two and a half years ago, Praful suffered a career-threatening back injury. When it looked like his career was over, he got help from Varun Aaron and Australian great Glenn McGrath.Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling coach Varun Arun pumped his fists in the dugout as Hang went through Rajasthan Royals’ top order. Aaron has plenty of reason to celebrate Purfl’s success, and so does Henge’s family.“Dreams never come true (Who said dreams never come true?), Praful’s father Prakash Hinge told TimesofIndia.com from Nagpur.Varun came like an angel in Arun Praful’s career. They have seen a lot of hurt (Verne’s career has been hampered by injuries). When Praful suffered a stress fracture, we all thought his cricket was over, but Varun took him under his wing and helped him recover. He literally held her by the hand in that dark phase,” added Heng senior, who retired from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board a few months ago.After recovering from the injury, McGrath, director of coaching at the MRF Peace Foundation in Chennai, invited him to Australia, where Praful trained for three weeks at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Center in Brisbane.“Glenn McGrath, who was impressed by his line and length, took him to Brisbane. All expenses were borne by the MRF Peace Foundation. We didn’t have to pay a single penny,” said Prakash Hinge.Former Vidarbha cricketer Ranjit Pradkar, who coached Praful at the U-16 and U-23 levels, said talent is always there among youngsters.“It was all about opportunity. After playing age-group cricket for your state, if you haven’t represented India Under-19, you need someone to push you, and in Parful’s case it was Varun. The boy has also worked very hard. The stress fracture has made him a better bowler. I can see that Varun has made some technical changes in his run-up, a bit in his action and follow-through. The beautiful thing is that Harsh Dubey, who was their captain during the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, is playing alongside them in the same franchise,” Pradkar said.Meanwhile, Prakash Hinge, who is attending to calls and visitors at his home in Nagpur, also credits his son’s stubbornness.“I was a civil servant, and my daughter is a chartered accountant. Education was everything for us, but this boy, from an early age, was crazy about cricket. Playing street cricket all day, Madgeho had to be put in the academy and then he made the ground his home (He used to play street cricket all day. We forced him into the academy, and since then, he has made the ground his home), said Heng senior, who now has no regrets about allowing his son to play cricket.
