5 interesting facts about Karnataka's Vijaykumar Vyshak, the fast-bowler selected for SA vs IND T20Is 2024
Vijaykumar Vyshak earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team on Friday (October 25). He was named in the 15-member squad for the four-match T20I series in South Africa, which begins on November 8 in Durban.
Vyshak has scalped 175 wickets in 76 games across all formats, with 8/123 as the best match-figures. He emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker for Karnataka in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy with 31 scalps.
The right-arm pacer reaped rewards of taking 10 wickets in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy 2024. He expressed his happiness at finally making it to the Indian team.
"I'm speechless. An India call-up is what every cricketer aspires for. It's a dream come true," Vyshak said in an interview with The Times of India.
On that note, let's take a look at the five interesting facts about Vijaykumar Vyshak.
#1 Vijaykumar Vyshak's father left his job to help his son pursue a cricket career
Vijay Kumar, Vyshak's father left his job at a private firm to devote all his time to accompanying his son to training. Meanwhile, his mother, who worked as an HR, took on the family responsibilities.
Here's what Vyshak said (via India Today):
"He was someone who really wanted to play cricket but then his parents were not supportive. He always had to sneak out and go play cricket and then sneak in again. He said we don't want you to face any situation as such. We just want you to play cricket. However, you can. Just make sure you are enjoying cricket and that is where it all started."
Interestingly, Vijay is now employed by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
#2 Played primarily as a batter until U-16 level
Until his U-16 days, Vyshak played as a pure batter for the Karnataka side. However, he then took up medium-pace bowling to add skills to his game.
Here's what he said on turning into a pacer in the past (via India Today):
"I started everything actually. I was a batsman and then I used to start wicketkeeping. I was too fat for it. Then I started spinning and till about 16-17, I was still a batsman. When I captained Karnataka U-16, I got a 100 against Goa. I thought that I was still going to be a batsman but then looking at all the competitions, I still thought that I should probably add something to my game. And that is when I started bowling with a slow medium pace."
Vyshak's batting skills were on display in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season, where he amassed 343 runs in eight innings, while also scoring a century.
#3 Learned importance of fitness from Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee
During Karnataka Premier League (KPL) 2018, Vijaykumar Vyshak met Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee. Both former Australian pacers instructed Vyshak to work on his fitness, as he was on the heavier side. They also gave him tips on how to improve his overall skills and win games for the side.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda in 2020, Vyshak said:
"During the 2018 KPL, I spent half an hour with Mitchell Johnson in his hotel room. That time I was very heavy, he told me how fitness was very important."
"I met Brett Lee too, and he told me the same thing. Both of them were very sweet. They showed me how I needed to practice, keep cones and jump straight. After I started training, I began to understand how important fitness, gym, recovery is," he added.
The KPL 2018 saw Vyshak return with 11 wickets in seven games and emerge as Mysuru Warriors' top bowler.
#4 Shed 25+ kilos to stake a claim for a place in Karnataka senior side
Vijaykumar Vyshak decided to lose his weight after being overlooked yet again for the list of Karnataka Ranji probables in December 2018. As per the feedback, the key reason for him to be neglected was due to his fitness.
In this pursuit, he took help from Sri Ayyappa, who is renowned as one of the finest athletic coaches in the state. Vyshak went from 104 kilos in April 2019 to 78 kilos in December 2020.
In the aforementioned chat with Sportskeeda, he said:
"After losing weight, I’ve been bowling quicker. Even my fielding has improved. Earlier people would say, “Okay let’s hit the ball to him, he’ll misfield and we can take runs,” but now that I'm fit, people don't want to take me on."
#5 Dismissed David Warner and Axar Patel on his IPL debut
Vijaykumar Vyshak served as a net bowler for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the pre-season camp leading up to the 2023 season. The IPL 2023 auction saw him getting unsold, however, he was still among the RCB pool of players.
After Rajat Patidar was ruled out of the season due to injury, the franchise announced Vyshak as his replacement.
On his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals, the right-arm pacer was the team's wrecker-in-chief with figures of 3/20. His key wickets included David Warner and Axar Patel.
Interestingly, Vyshak obliged to skipper Faf du Plessis' request o bowl a slower delivery to Warner. He outfoxed the former Australian batter with a knuckle ball and got him holed out. In the end, RCB won the game by 23 runs.