A small town boy who went on to play for India and became a popular face in the domestic circuit, this bowler has come a long way since his gully cricket days. In a freewheeling chat, cricketer Vinay Kumar who will be captaining the Hubli Tigers in the Karnataka Premier League which begins on September 1, gets candid about his early days, his journey in sport and more….
Having been part of winning teams (KKR and MI) thrice in the IPL, Vinay played for the victorious Mumbai Indians this year. The medium-pacer reveals that he enjoyed every moment of the tournament. “I got to play only one game this time. IPL is not about how talented you are, it’s all about the team combination.
However, in the one match that I played against Kolkata, I bagged two wickets including that of Chris Lynn, who was doing really well for them — that was memorable,” he shares.
The Davangere Express, as he’s fondly called, went on to make good friends with the Pandya brothers and Ambati Rayudu in the IPL. “Hardik is an extremely talented guy. Finding someone like him who can bowl and bat is very rare — he’s a clean hitter. I will always wish him good luck and hopefully watch him play many more years for the country, and make us proud,” says the bowler, who will be captaining the Hubli Tigers in the KPL.
Ask him what memories spring up when he looks back at his journey and he recollects, “My tryst with cricket happened when I was in Davangere. I’m very thankful to my coaches Prakash Pawar and LM Prakash Sir, and my parents who supported me throughout. When I moved to Bengaluru, there were many people who helped me — after doing well, I went directly from playing fifth division to first division cricket and soon, got a chance to play for Karnataka in the Ranji. I also got a job in Vijaya Bank when it was important for me to have some kind of security. God has been kind, I have gotten what I wanted.”
The conversation veers towards his passion for cars and bikes and he reveals that it was his childhood dream to own a Harley Davidson. “I now own the Fat Boy Special — it’s probably the first one in India,” says the automobile enthusiast, who has a number of cars on his wish list.
When he’s not displaying his skill on the field, this doting hubby makes it a point to spend as much time as possible with his pretty wife Richa Singh. The duo is quite the wanderer couple and often posts gorgeous travel pictures on social media. “I have to say that my wife has been a great source of support. She’s much younger to me, but the maturity she shows is commendable. Whenever I get some free time, I make sure to take her on small trips, watch movies or shop together,” he says.
