Rahul Tripathi is an Indian cricketer who plays in Indian domestic cricket, Indian Premier League and the Indian National team. He is considered one of the best hitters of the balls and one of the fittest cricketers in India.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Rahul Tripathi was born on Saturday, 2 March 1991 (age 32 years; as of 2023) in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. His zodiac sign is Pisces. He started playing cricket with a plastic bat at the age of 9 months, and according to his father, they gave Rahul various toys; however, he always selected a bat and ball to play with. A senior of Rahul’s father observed Rahul’s passion towards cricket, and he advised his father to make Rahul a cricketer. In his school, he used to play with a pencil as a wicket, a scale as a bat, and an eraser as a ball. He studied at different Army Public Schools in Ranchi, Gangtok, Lucknow, Kashmir, and Pune as his father used to get transferred across different cities in his Army career. He earned a B. Sc Maths Honours from Sir Parashurambhau Mahavidyalay aka SP College, Pune, Maharashtra. After training in Lucknow during his early childhood, he did not play cricket for around 3 years when his father was posted in Kashmir. After moving to Pune from Srinagar, his father got him enrolled at Pune’s Deccan Gymkhana for cricket practice on 20 September 2003.
Rahul Tripathi during his childhood
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 42″, Waist 32″, Biceps 14″
Family
He belongs to a Brahmin family.
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Colonel Ajay Tripathi, and his mother’s name is Saroj Tripathi. His father works in Indian Army, and his mother is a housewife. His sister’s name is Rupali Tripathi who is a national-level basketball player.
Rahul Tripathi’s father, Ajay Tripathi, Rahul Tripathi, Rahul’s sister, Rupali, and Rahul’s mother, Saroj (left to right)
Wife & Children
As of January 2023, he is unmarried.
Career
Domestic
In 2003, after shifting to Pune, Rahul’s father came to know about the trials for the Maharashtra under-14 team conducted in Nehru Stadium. He had an exam on the same day which he finished 30 minutes before the stipulated time and reached the trial’s venue. His father requested the selectors to let him play after which they allowed Rahul to play two balls. After seeing him play, they allowed him to play two more balls and then two more balls and then they told Rahul to wait till evening. In the evening, Rahul again played a few more balls and advanced to the top 80 among 2000 players. He then underwent trials for 3 more days and was selected among the top 44 players. In the end, he was selected among the top 5 players of Pune. He played his debut match in the Vijay Hazare trophy on 16 February 2010 for Maharashtra against Baroda at Ahmedabad, Gujarat and was out on a duck. He played his debut match in Ranji Trophy on 22 December 2012 for Maharashtra against Baroda at Pune and scored 24 runs. He played his debut match in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on 18 March 2013 for Maharashtra against Saurashtra at Ahmedabad and scored 2 runs. In the 2014 CK Nayudu Trophy, he scored 4 centuries against 4 different teams, and in the final match, he scored 282 runs to help Maharashtra clinch the trophy. For his spectacular performance, BCCI conferred the Best Cricketer of India award in the under-25 category to him, and BPCL started providing him with a scholarship to play cricket. In the 2018-2019 Ranji Trophy season, he emerged as the top scorer from Maharashtra with 504 runs in 8 matches. For his performance, he was awarded by the Maharashtra Cricket Association with the award of Best Cricketer of the Year award in the senior category.
Rahul Tripathi with the Best Cricketer of the year award
International
T20I
Rahul Tripathi made his debut in T20I on 5 January 2023 against Sri Lanka at Pune and scored 5 runs. He became the 102nd player to represent India in T20Is. In a match against Sri Lanka at Rajkot, he scored 35 runs off 16 balls at a strike rate of 218.75 which included 5 fours and 2 sixes.
Congratulations to Rahul Tripathi who is all set to make his T20I debut for #TeamIndia 🇮🇳👏#INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/VX1y83nOsD
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2023
Indian Premier League (IPL)
He played for the Rising Pune Supergiants team in the 2017 IPL season and scored 391 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 146.44. In the 2018 and 2019 IPL seasons, he played for Rajasthan Royals and scored 376 runs in 2o matches at a strike rate of 127.41. In the 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons, he played for Kolkata Knight Riders and scored 627 runs in 28 matches at a strike rate of 133.68. During the 2nd Qualifier in the 2021 season, he hit a six on the penultimate delivery of the match to help Kolkata Knight Riders advance into the final. In the 2022 IPL season, he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored 413 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 158.24.
WHAT. A. FINISH! 👌 👌 @KKRiders hold their nerve and seal a thrilling win over the spirited @DelhiCapitals in the #VIVOIPL #Qualifier2 & secure a place in the #Final. 👏 👏 #KKRvDC
Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/eAAJHvCMYS pic.twitter.com/Qqf3fu1LRt
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 13, 2021
Favourites
- Food: Paneer dish
- Holiday Destination: Maldives
- Childhood hero: Sachin Tendulkar
- Cricketer: Virat Kohli
- Bowler: Brett Lee
- Superhero: Hulk
Facts/Trivia
- Rahul Tripathi was very naughty during his childhood. He once jumped in the Ganges river flowing near his river and started to drown before being saved by other people swimming in the river. When he lived in Gangtok, Sikkim, he lost more than 500 balls while playing cricket. Once he went to a party with his grandfather where he saw Litti (round-shaped wheat dough balls) and started playing with them.
Rahul Tripathi with his grandparents during his childhood
- Rahul Tripathi is the third oldest player to make a debut for India in T20Is after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
- Rahul Tripathi follows a vegetarian diet, and his mother prepares protein laddoos for him which he carries inside his bag whenever he is playing. He also likes Aloo Parathe; however, to maintain his fitness, he avoids oily food and eats only Paneer, Mushrooms, boiled vegetables, and Brown rice.
- He likes dancing and also has a huge collection of Hindi songs.
- Rahul’s father also played cricket before joining the Indian Army and played for the Under-22 team of Uttar Pradesh as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
- Rahul Tripathi was brilliant at academics, especially in Mathematics. He studied for 20 hours on some days and always remained in the top 5 of the class during his school days. He wanted to be an engineer before choosing cricket as his full-time profession.
- Rahul used to get free passes for various IPL matches which were scheduled in Pune; however, since 2013, he had decided to not watch any IPL match until he was selected for IPL. He was selected by Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017 and then, he went to IPL to play for them.
- He considers the former Indian captain MS Dhoni as his role model, and his maternal grandparent’s house is very close to Dhoni’s house in Ranchi.
Rahul Tripathi with MS Dhoni
- In 2009, he injured his back during the practice session of the under-19 Maharashtra team in Bengaluru. He was able to walk; however, he was unfit for cricket. His family prayed in various temples and contacted many doctors after which he started exercising and started playing cricket after 8 months.
- He has a close bond with his sister Rupali who is younger than him by 5 years. Rahul gave her 21 gifts on her 21st birthday.
- He has hit 6 sixes in an over on two separate occasions while playing local cricket.
- After Rahul passed class 10th exams, his mother wanted him to focus on his studies; however, his father did not want him to compromise on the sport and decided to give him two more years to play before making any decision.
- In 2008, Rahul’s father arranged a trial for the selection to the Andhra Pradesh Ranji team at Jaisimha Academy ground in Hyderabad. Rahul batted and bowled for 20 minutes each and almost secured a place in the team before returning to Pune.
- Whenever he goes to the Deccan Gymkhana during the breaks from IPL, the groundsman installs new nets as he hits 7-8 balls out of the ground.
- Rahul Tripathi was selected for the Indian squad for the Ireland tour, the ODI home series against South Africa, the ODI series against Zimbabwe, and the ODI series against Bangladesh before playing for India in T20Is for the first time in the 2023 series against Sri Lanka.
- After reviewing Rahul during the trials before the 9th season of IPL, New Zealand cricketer and Pune Supergiant’s coach Stephen Fleming told him that he needed to work on his physical fitness. Rahul worked and was selected in the next season (10th) season of IPL by Rising Pune Supergiants.
- He credited Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting assistant and West Indies cricketer Brian Lara for helping him with his batting technique and his improvement in the game.
