Who is Gujarat-born Kashyap Prajapati? 5 interesting facts about Oman opener who smashed 100 vs Zimbabwe in WC Qualifiers
Kashyap Prajapati played one of the best knocks by an Oman player in ODI cricket history on Thursday, June 29, in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. Playing against the undefeated Zimbabwe team at the Queens Sports Club, Prajapati scored 103 runs off 97 balls.
Prajapati's innings consisted of 12 fours and one six. His century almost guided Oman to a memorable win against Zimbabwe in the Super Sixes round. In the end, Zimbabwe held their nerve and won by 14 runs while defending a target of 333.
Although Zimbabwe emerged victorious, Kashyap Prajapati grabbed the headlines with his top-quality performance. Here's a look at the five things fans should know about the Oman opener:
#1 Kashyap Prajapati's birthplace is near Hardik Pandya's hometown
Kashyap Prajapati plays for Oman, but he was born in the Kheda district of Gujarat. Indian ODI team's vice-captain Hardik Pandya was born in Choryasi village of Gujarat, which is less than four hours away from Kheda.
While Pandya is currently among the top cricketers in India, Prajapati has made it big in Oman cricket. If Oman qualifies for the Cricket World Cup 2023, he will get an opportunity to play in front of the Indian audience.
#2 Hit Mustafizur Rahman for 2 sixes in his first-ever T20I innings
Prajapati's first T20I innings came at the grand stage of the T20 World Cup in 2021. He did not receive a chance to bat on his T20I debut against Papua New Guinea because Oman won that match by 10 wickets.
Against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup, Prajapati scored 21 runs off 18 balls. Mustafizur Rahman is among the top T20 bowlers in the world, but Prajapati whacked two maximums off the left-arm pacer's bowling on his debut.
#3 Kashyap Prajapati is in a relationship with a homeopath
Prajapati's Instagram feed shows that he has been dating a homeopath named Shrusti Hirani. They have shared a lot of pictures together on their respective Instagram profiles.
Shrusthi Hirani's Instagram bio states that she is a homeopath, who treats sick people with homeopathy. She hails from Gujarat as well.
#4 He has trained with World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten
Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten has had a fantastic career as a coach. He led India to the World Cup win in 2011. Kirsten has also been a part of the Gujarat Titans coaching staff in IPL since 2022.
Kashyap Prajapati got a chance to train at the Gary Kirsten Academy and take some valuable tips from the former Indian head coach earlier this year. He shared a picture from their interaction on Instagram.
#5 Played local tournaments in Gujarat before debuting for Oman
Kashyap's cricketing journey started in Gujarat. His old Instagram posts show that he participated in multiple local tournaments before shifting to Oman.
Although Kashyap played in local tournaments, he did not play any matches for Gujarat at the domestic level. The Oman opener will aim to return to his home state and play at the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad one day.