He could well be referred to as nobody’s child in Indian cricket. Despite having been hugely successful in domestic cricket, Bangalore Royal Challengers medium-pacer R Vinay Kumar is yet to bag a central contract from the BCCI.
But the 26-year-old is a born fighter. And he’s proved that yet again in this edition of the IPL. Despite going wicketless in his first two games, Vinay came back strongly and picked up three wickets in an over against Mumbai Indians and followed it up with a four-wicket haul against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.
For the Karnataka player, this IPL is probably the most important tournament of his career. After being ignored by the national selectors even after taking countless wickets on placid Indian tracks, he finally found his name in the probables list for the World Twenty20.
“It was a big motivation for me, since I knew that a good show in IPL can help me fulfill my dream of getting the India cap,” Vinay said.
But to taste this success, Vinay had to fasten a few loose ends. “Though I was picking wickets in the domestic circuit, I realised after the first IPL that to get quality batsmen out on Indian tracks, you need to do something different.”
Thereafter, Vinay started working on his slower delivery and he tried it in the second IPL and then in the Champions League T20.
“When I started bowling the slower ball, I was getting the results. I then started bowling slow bouncers, which I think is really effective on Indian pitches.”
Another aspect that has really kept the hunger in Vinay alive is the strong support he has got from statemates Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.
Vinay is really looking forward to Thursday’s game against Delhi Daredevils, where he will be up against players like Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers.
