Hunar Verma

Hunar Verma, born on New Year's Day in the dawn of the millennium, has emerged as one of cricket's most promising fast-bowling talents. Growing up in the bustling lanes of Kanpur, India, Hunar's childhood was steeped in cricketing dreams. From a tender age, the sound of ball meeting timber was music to his ears, spurred by local legends and the collective hope of his cricket-crazed community. The dusty grounds of Kanpur became his first arena, where a precocious Verma, armed with a tennis ball and boundless energy, first displayed an intoxicating zest to bowl at frightening speeds.

Hunar's formal journey began in his early teens when his raw talent was spotted by an astute school coach during an inter-school championship. Known for his swearing by the fiery cricket gods of history, Hunar idolised the likes of Allan Donald and Waqar Younis, moulding his action with deep, vehement inspiration. By 18, he was making waves in the domestic circuit, eventually earning his professional debut for Uttar Pradesh's Ranji side in the 2019-20 season.

Verma's bowling spells hold a certain mesmerising quality—the lethal combination of raw pace, pin-point accuracy, and the ability to extract sharp bounce even on the most docile pitches. His right-arm-fast deliveries have often left batsmen confounded, especially his signature outswinger which has earned him unprecedented accolades and a bagful of wickets. Opponents soon discovered that Hunar was not just fast, but fiendishly clever, capable of outthinking them with unerring subtlety.

Hunar's impact magnified in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy final, where his spellbinding 5/29 catapulted his team to a historic victory, delivering Uttar Pradesh their first title in years. The match was a spectacle of his tenacity and cunningly fierce rivalry with a formidable Mumbai side led by a tenacious captain determined to conquer every duel.

Over time, while his bowling was celebrated, few cricket enthusiasts were pleasantly surprised by his right-hand batting prowess—seen in significant cameos when his side found themselves cluelessly adrift. His sheer presence in these moments was enough to spark resilience, to jolt hope into the squad.

Indeed, Hunar Verma is a poetic mingling of fire and frost, of vision and flesh, standing as a luminous testament to the undying spirit of cricket's lore. This high-velocity bowler from the vibrant heart of India not only continues to shatter stumps but also embarks on a relentless quest to etch his story into the annals of cricketing folklore.

Batting Stats

Bowling Stats