Lucknow: Indian cricket all-rounder Praveen Kumar on Sunday joined the Samajwadi Party, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
“I have met the Chief Minister and decided to join the party. I will do whatever is possible for the party,” he told reporters. Asked whether he would contest the state assembly polls, Kumar said, “I am a kid in this field. As of now I will try to learn it (politics).”
Heaping praise on Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Kumar, who hails from Meerut, said the Chief Minister has done a lot for sportsmen and big stadiums are being constructed in Lucknow and Saifai. The 29-year-old cricketer also said that Yadav had worked hard for the all-round development of the state.
Kumar, who plays for Uttar Pradesh cricket team in first class cricket, has been a part of the Indian cricket team in six test matches and 68 ODI’s, where he has to his credit, 27 and 77 wickets respectively. In 16 IPL matches this season, he picked up nine wickets. The last time he represented the Men in Blue was in March 2012 in T20I.
The Meerut-born cricketer is one of the rare instances when an active cricketer has had a taste of politics. Mohammad Kaif joined Congress in Uttar Pradesh, and contested from the Phulpur constituency in the Lok sabha elections in 2014.
