Kumar Kartikeya is an Indian cricketer who is known for being the replacement of Arshad Khan in Mumbai Indians for the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL).In an interview, Kartikeya said that his cricket journey started when he was a child and saw his fathers smile while watching a cricket match. At that time, he thought if cricket made his father happy, he would also play cricket professionally. Kumars father is a police official. In an interview, he revealed that to watch Kumars debut match, his battalion had installed a projector in the police station, and when Kumar took his first wicket in the IPL match against Rajasthan Royals, all his fathers colleagues hugged him and started clapping. Kumar Kartikeyas father watching Kumars debut match with his colleagues.At the age of fifteen, he came to Delhi and enrolled himself in a cricket academy. During his initial days in Delhi, he worked as a labourer in a factory near Ghaziabad that was 80 km away from the academy. He used to work there all night and save ten rupees by walking back to his home so that he could afford a packet of biscuits.One day, his coach, Sanjay Bhardwaj, saw him bowling in the academy and asked him to stay with him in Delhi. He ensured him to take full responsibility for Kartikeya. In an interview, his coach said that Kartikeya had not eaten lunch for a year and when the cook in the academy served him lunch, he started crying. In an interview, he talked about his coach and said, Sir has taken care of me like Im his own son. I stayed with him for six years. He took care of every single cricketing expense. I was playing in Delhi at that time. I performed too, but in the trials, I didnt get selected. Then sir told me, You should go to Madhya Pradesh. I reached Shahdol and played trial matches and practice matches there, and for the first time, I got selected in the Under-23 side, as a standby. Kumar Kartikeyas coach.Kartikeya practised a lot in Delhi, but he was not selected for any team. His coach advised him to go to Madhya Pradesh and play there. So, he went to Gandhi Stadium in Shahdol and after his performance in division cricket, he got a chance to play in the Ranji trophy for Madhya Pradesh.When he started playing cricket, he was a left-arm orthodox spinner, but later, he learned wrist spin and continued to bowl wrist spin. In 2016, he became the man of the match in a club match between LB Shastri Club and ONGC. Kumar Kartikeya wins man of the match in a club match between LB Shastri Club and ONGC.He made his debut with the 201819 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 26 September 2018 in which he played for Madhya Pradesh. Kumar Kartikeya during Vijay Hazare Trophy.On 28 November 2018, he played for Madhya Pradesh in the 201819 Ranji Trophy. Kumar Kartikeya during the Ranji Trophy.On 2 March 2019, he made his Twenty20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in the 201819 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.In April 2022, the Mumbai Indians chose him as a replacement for Arshad Khan for the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) because of Khans injury. In an interview, Mumbai Indians talked about Kartikeya and said, Kartikeya is a slow left-arm bowler and has represented MP across all three formats of the game since making his debut in 2018. Kumar Kartikeya has been impressive in the nets and his learning trajectory on improving and fine-tuning his bowling skills have earned him the call up to the main squad. Kumar Kartikeya during an IPL match.