Rudra Pratap Singh is a professional cricketer, who was born on December 6, 1985 in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is left-arm medium pacer and bats right-handed.
Rudra Pratap Singh made his Test debut for the Indian side on January 21, 2006 in a match against Pakistan at Faisalabad. He won the Man of the Match award for his spectacular performance in his debut by claiming five wickets. Following this, he was included in the Test squad for the tour to England and carried on his good form by taking his first five-wicket haul, which is also his career best figure till date in Tests at Lord’s. These impressive performances saw his inclusion in the Test side for the 2007-2008 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In this series, Rudra Pratap Singh was a key member of the side during its historic test win over Australia at Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth on January 16, 2008. He contributed to this victory by taking 4/68 in the first innings and 2/95 in the second innings. As of 2008, Rudra Pratap Singh has played a total of 13 Tests and has taken 40 wickets, including 3 four-wicket hauls, with an economy rate of 4.02.
Rudra Pratap Singh made his One Day International (ODI) debut on September 4, 2005 in a match against Zimbabwe at Harare, where his side won by 4 wickets. He was included in the squad for the Sri Lanka series and won his first Man of the Match award in his ODI career for his spectacular performance in the third ODI of this series, where he helped India restrict the Sri Lankan side to 196 runs. In this match, Rudra Pratap Singh finished with bowling figures of 4/35 from 8.5 overs that includes 2 maiden overs. He maintained the momentum in the next series against Pakistan and contributed to his side’s victory with his four-wicket haul in the fourth match of the series that gave his side a 3-1 lead. His impressive performance brought him three Man of the Match awards in the first 11 ODIs of his career.. All these ensured him a place in the 2006 International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy team. In the following year, he was included in squad for the home series against Australia and Pakistan. He played four games in each of the series and took a total of 11 wickets from these games. As of 2008, Rudra Pratap Singh has played a total of 45 ODIs and has taken 59 wickets, including 2 four-wicket hauls.
In 2007, Rudra Pratap Singh was named in the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 (T20) tournament in South Africa. He played a crucial role for India and helped it win the World Cup defeating Pakistan in the final. During this tournament, Rudra Pratap Singh claimed his International Twenty20 (T20I) career best bowling figure of 4/13 in the final Super-8 match against South Africa and finished the tournament as the second highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 12.66.
In 2008, Rudra Pratap Singh signed with the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Deccan Chargers on a contract worth $ 875,000. On April 20, 2008, he made his debut for this side against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. During the first season of the IPL, Rudra Pratap Singh took a total of 15 wickets from 14 matches and finished as the fifth highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
