Discarded Indian pacer Praveen Kumar has joined Samajwadi Party on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
Kumar, who has represented India in six Test matches and 68 ODIs, said that he met UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and took the decision to join his party.
"I have met CM and decided to join the party. I will do whatever is possible for the party," Kumar told reporters after meeting the CM, who is also state president of SP.
The 29-year-old pacer, who hails from Meerut, was inducted into the party by few senior leaders in the state capital Lucknow.
He is likely to contest from Meerut in 2017 state polls and will be a star campaigner for the party.
Kumar hasn't represented India since 2012 in any of the three formats, but has been a regular feature in the annually played Indian Premier League.
Being part of a star-studded Ranji team, which included Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif, Piyush Chawla and RP Singh, Kumar has been notoriously known for his ill temper on the field.
He was suspended from the 2013 Vijay Hazare Trophy for using foul language against a batsman.
In 2008, he was involved in a fracas in Meerut and had allegedly thrashed a doctor.
In the 2011 series in England, he angrily reacted to fans’ gibes in a tour game against Northants.
Kumar's teammate Kaif had also lost as a Congress candidate from Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
