BENGALURU: Since his Ranji Trophy debut against Bengal in 2004, R Vinay Kumar has become one of the most respected players in the national domestic circuit. His resume includes winning the premier competition in 2013-14 and 2014-15 besides other achievements like playing for India. The bowler will add another feather in his cap when he represents his state for the 100th time in Ranji Trophy, against Vidarbha on Monday.
Vinay has been one of the most consistent performers, who has taken wickets regularly, and also inspired a generation of players to aim high. In the last five Ranji seasons, he has scalped 124 wickets. In the same period, a number of players from Karnataka have represented India. Overall, in his domestic career, he has featured in 123 first-class matches, with 445 wickets to his name.
He is not one of those bowlers, who relies too much on pace. It’s tight line, length and subtle changes according to conditions that has helped him take wickets. A crafty customer, he has the ability the move the ball both ways. His performances did not go unnoticed and he represented India in all formats, although he would have liked to play at that level for longer.
Despite having a good record at the domestic level, he could not really transfer that brilliance to the international level. He represented India in one Test (one wicket), 31 ODIs (38) and 9 T20s (10). After having conceded 102 runs in 9 overs against Australia in the city five years ago, he never played for India despite being named inthe squad.
“Unlucky that I didn’t get much opportunity with the Indian team. Whenever I was there, I did well. After that game (against Australia) I got a chance to be a part of the team in three series but unfortunately, I didn’t get to play in any game. I didn’t get to play in any India A game either. If I got an opportunity you never know, I would have done well there. I’m just waiting for my opportunity,” Vinay said.
The 34-year-old might have a few more years of domestic cricket left in him, but he is not too worried about age. He knows that to be on top of his fitness is important if he is to play more, including the IPL.
“From outside, people talk about the age factor, but from inside, I’m not feeling it. Yes, the body might take a little bit longer to recover than it used to when I was 23-24. I know most people say this when they are growing old, but for me, age is just a number. That said, I have to be smart with my workload,” added Vinay.ashim.sunam@newindianexpress.com