Who is Deepak Hooda?

Deepak Hooda has replaced Ravindra Jadeja in the Asia Cup 2020 Big Four match between India and Pakistan. The ace allrounder has been ruled out of the ongoing tournament due to an injury. Hooda can act as a finisher with Rishabh Pant replacing Dinesh Karthik in the squad.

Playing his first match in IPL 2022, Hooda smashed six boundaries and two maximums to rotate the strike for LSG in their first outing of the season. 

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A part of India’s U-19 squad in 2014, Deepak Hooda’s 68 runs off 99 balls was the top score for India in the quarter-finals against England. Even though India lost the match, Hooda had made headlines and attracted the attention of the IPL franchises. His coach, Sanjeev Sawant, described his off-spin bowling as ‘very accurate’ as Hooda’s economy rate in List A was as low as 4.40 runs per over. 

Referred to as ‘Hurricane’ in the domestic circle, Hooda became the second Baroda player after Snehal Parikh to score a century on first-class debut. IPL 2015 saw Hooda amass 151 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 158.94. In the very next edition, Hooda was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4.2 crores, 42 times his base price of Rs 10 lakh. He delivered quick runs lower in the order and bowled economically in the middle overs. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the title in 2016 and Hooda was an integral factor in their first title win.

Hooda has been involved in sports since he was a child, thanks to his father, Jajbir Hooda, who is a member of the Air Force and a kabaddi player. He began playing cricket when he was in elementary school. He made his senior level cricket debut at the age of 14 when he played for the Kendriya Vidyalaya U-17 team in the SGFI in 2009. He began his career as a wicket-keeper batter before becoming a batting all-rounder.