Career
Rakesh Kumar was born on 15 April 1982 in the Nizampur village of North West Delhi. He took up Kabaddi in 1997 during his school days. After having played for his school team, he represented Delhi at the national level, before making it to the senior national team in 2003.
Rakesh Kumar made his debut for the national team in 2003.
Pro Kabaddi League
At the auction of the inaugural season of the Pro Kabaddi League, Kumar was the recipient of the highest bid, having been bought for ₹12.8 lakh (United States$19,000) by the Patna franchise, the team later named Patna Pirates. He was made the captain of the team who led the team to a third-place finish in the 2014 season.
He was signed by U Mumba for the 2016 season.