Was dying to get just one more match in IPL, reveals Ray Price
Former Zimbabwe spinner Ray Price, who played a solitary game for Mumbai Indians in 2011, has revealed that all he ever wanted was to get one more IPL game to showcase his talent in the biggest stage. Price’s only game came against KKR in 2011, a match where he finished with figures of 0/33.
While the Indian Premier League, of late, has become a survival of the fittest, with only the best of the best getting a shot at playing matches, the earlier seasons, in stark contrast, provided a window of opportunity for several fringe players - including overseas signings - to showcase their talent. One such player was former Zimbabwean spinner Ray Price, who in 2011 was snapped up by Mumbai Indians.
Price’s moment to shine came on May 22, 2011, when he was handed his IPL debut against the Kolkata Knight Riders, but the left-arm spinner had a forgettable outing, bowling just three overs and conceding 33 runs off them. 9 years on, the 43-year-old recalled how all he ever wished for was one more chance to prove his worth to the side, but revealed that he was grateful to have gotten the chance to share the dressing room with some of the greatest players in the game.
“I was dying for another game to show what I could do, but in life you don't always get those second chances,” Price told Cricbuzz.
“Also at that point I was getting on a bit in age and wasn't that mobile around the field, so I'm not surprised that I didn't get another shot after that. But what a pleasure it was to just be there and learn so much, even if I was just being a waiter.”
Recalling the moment when he was informed that he had landed himself an IPL contract, Price revealed that he initially thought that he was being pranked, before realizing that it was actually Shaun Pollock - the then bowling coach of Mumbai - who was on the other side of the call. The 43-year-old, who represented Zimbabwe in 22 Tests and 102 ODIs, joked about how his family was upset that he had to cut the vacation short.
"I thought it was one of my mates stuffing around. Then I realised it really was Polly, and he was saying I needed to get my butt over to Mumbai. So we had to cut our holiday short, which the family were not that chuffed about.”
After representing Zimbabwe in all three formats in a career spanning 14 years, Price hung up his boots in 2013, after his side's nine-wicket defeat at the hands of the Windies at Kensington Oval.
