Vinay Kumar, cricketer
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Sources
Auto driver’s son rises RCB’s Vinay Kumar picked for T20 WC
Satish Viswanathan | TNN The Times of India
Career highlights
The Royal Challengers Bangalore, R Vinay Kumar — was included in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
Ranganath Vinay Kumar DoB: February 12, 1984
Teams: India ‘A’, India Red, South Zone, Karnataka, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Belagavi Panthers (KPL)
Role: Right-arm medium pacer and right-hand batsman.
First class debut: versus Bengal in Kolkata (Ranji Trophy), November 7-10, 2004.
First-class record till 2010: 54 matches (44 Ranji ties, 8 Duleep ties and two India ‘A’ matches); 202 wickets at 24.19; best: 8-32; 10 five-wicket hauls
T20 debut: Versus Kerala in Vizag (SZ inter-state tourney) in 2007
T20 record till 2010: 35 matches (9 inter-state/Syed Mushtaq Ali ties, 24 IPL ties, two Champions League ties); 34 wickets at 25.70; economy 7.89, best: 4-40 My parents sacrificed a lot for me: Vinay
Early life
It was in the late 1990s, as a 13-yearold, that the talent of R Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka bowler selected for the T20 World Cup, was first spotted — as a batsman. His father drove an auto-rickshaw to support his family. He still encouraged his son to play the game. “My parents have sacrificed a lot for me. We weren’t financially strong, and me being the eldest, it was my duty to take care of them. But looking at my interest in the game, they encouraged me to continue playing. They never made me feel guilty about the fact that I wasn’t helping them in running the family,” an emotion-filled Vinay told The Times of India.
“Once we realized he had talent, we didn’t have the heart to stop him from playing. It was tough but we did what we had to do,” said his father. “Being a sportsman myself (he used to dabble in athletics and kabaddi), I understood his needs. He was never short of encouragement; our family chipped in, my friends helped and his coach, Prakash Sir, provided the cricket equipment,” said Vinay’s dad Ranganath, who is proud that he could provide all his three kids with education.
“Actually, I don’t how we managed. I drove my auto day and night. Before I realized it, Vinay and his sister completed their BCom while my second son will do the same soon,” added Ranganath.
All that of course has changed since 2007. Since his Karnataka Ranji Trophy debut in 2004-05, thanks to the BCCI opening its purse strings to first class cricketers as well, Vinay’s financial problems have been taken care of. He wasted no time in getting his family to move to Bangalore from Davanagere. And, yes, there is no more driving autos for his father. Instead, he can sit back and proudly watch his son take the long flight to the Caribbean.
