Praful Hinge Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Image Credits: AFP
Praful Hinge got off to a dream start for the SRH franchise in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. Playing the first match of his IPL career, the speedster decimated the famed Rajasthan Royals top-order with a match-winning four-wicket haul.
The 24-year-old even dismissed Rajasthan Royals’ wonderkid and in-form opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for a first-ball duck as part of his four-wicket burst with the new ball.
Catapulted into nationwide prominence with a remarkable debut, Praful’s Instagram account was reportedly suspended immediately after, or at least that’s what fans believed. Here, we determine as to what exactly happened with the cricketer’s social media account.
Was Praful Hinge’s Instagram account suspended?
The Instagram account of SRH fast bowler Praful Hinge apparently disappeared from the file-sharing app. The reported incident occurred shortly after the cricketer’s dream IPL debut against the Rajasthan Royals in match number 21 of the IPL 2026 season earlier this week.
Many fans believed that either Hinge’s account got suspended on Instagram, or the fast bowler himself de-activated it to focus on his debut IPL tournament.
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However, the reality is far removed from fans’ perception. We at CREX can confirm that Praful Hinge’s Instagram account was neither suspended nor deactivated, but became temporarily inaccessible due to a technical glitch or a surge in traffic following his breakout performance.
His account was not visible on the app only for a couple of hours before meta made it live again, with all half-a-million followers still intact. As of now, Hinge’s Instagram follower count has reached 5,44,000.
A look back at Praful Hinge’s dream IPL debut
Praful Hinge made his IPL debut for the SRH franchise in match number 21 of the IPL 2026 season against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, April 13 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Defending 217 runs for a win, the Vidarbha fast bowler picked up three wickets in the first over of his IPL career, including that of blistering opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for a first-ball duck. The speedster further knocked over Dhruv Jurel, and dismissed promising South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius, both for two-ball ducks in the first over.
Hinge also accounted for the dismissal of visiting skipper Riyan Parag in his following over as the Rajasthan Royals slipped to 9-5 at one stage. The young fast bowler eventually concluded his maiden IPL outing with exceptional figures of 4-34. A four-fer from another debutant, Sakib Hussain, ensured that the SRH franchise secured a comprehensive 57-run win.
SRH to face CSK in Hyderabad
With two wins in five matches, the SRH franchise is currently ranked number four on the IPL 2026 points table. Notably, the team is yet to be joined by regular skipper Pat Cummins, prompting Ishan Kishan to continue captaincy on an interim basis.
The ‘Orange Army’ will now face CSK in match number 27 of the tournament on Saturday, April 18 later this weekend. The match will be hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
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