Ranji Trophy | Vinay Kumar bids goodbye to Karnataka cricket to play for Puducherry in upcoming season
In what can easily be called 'the end of an era in Karnataka Cricket', Vinay Kumar has decided to move his base to Puducherry to play as a professional in the forthcoming Ranji Trophy. Kumar had led Karnataka to victories in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Irani Cup in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
After a glorious stint with Karnataka, that saw him touch impeccable heights - both as a player and a captain - Vinay Kumar would be best remembered for ending Mumbai's hegemony in the Indian domestic cricket and led Karnataka to a position from which many players led the charge. After making his first-class debut in the 2004-05 season, Kumar has picked 459 first-class wickets - the most by a pacer in the history of Ranji Trophy - at an average of 23.53. He was a handy batsman lower down the order as well, having a first-class batting average of 21.45 and two centuries to his name.
"It has been a great journey with Karnataka cricket. It is high time for me to give a chance to youngsters. I remember that Venkatesh Prasad made way for me when I came into the side as a 21-year-old. It is now time for me to do the same. I can definitely play for a few more years for Karnataka looking at my cricket and my fitness, but I'm looking at the bigger picture," he said.
"I got an offer from Puducherry a couple of weeks back.J. Arunkumar (former Karnataka and current Puducherry coach) and I have a good rapport. I'm going to miss Karnataka. It's difficult for me to leave the state team. But everything has an end. Puducherry is just one year old. It will be a good challenge,” Kumar said, reported Sportstar.
After ending the 2007-08 season as the country's second-leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, Kumar made further strides in the 2009-10 where his 46 wickets helped Karnataka to the final for the first time in 11 years. Abhimanyu Mithun and Srinath Aravind comprised the troika which largely helped the team reach the final that year.
After leading the team for a long long period, Kumar was replaced by Manish Pandey as captain in the middle of Vijay Hazare trophy in the 2018-19 season but continued to play a key role in the team's planning and strategy. While he was the fifth-highest run-scorer for Karnataka last season in Ranji Trophy, his bowling form plummeted and he could only pick 14 wickets.
“Last season’s performance wasn’t really a factor. The wickets column may not show much but I was a little unfortunate. People may say I’m 35 but I don’t feel that way inside,” Kumar added.
KSCA Secretary R. Sudhakar Rao hailed Vinay's contribution to Karnataka cricket and stated that the team lost a great player.
"We have lost a great player. He gives 200% every time he is on the field, be it his batting, bowling or catching. I didn't expect that he would leave but I felt that he might choose to play only limited-overs cricket. He didn’t want to block the progress of youngsters; that is his greatness.”
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