I'll always regret that I wasn't able to play 2011 World Cup: Praveen Kumar
With 112 wickets in 84 matches across all three formats in a career that spanned just over four years, one might consider Praveen Kumar one of the unluckiest cricketers to have played for the country. Yes, someone who represents the county does not often fall under the unlucky category, but in this case, Praveen did well for India in all the three formats but was still discarded from the side in 2012.
After making his debut for India in 2007, Praveen burst into stardom in the 2008 Commonwealth Bank Series in which he took 10 wickets, including six in the finals. He was one of the reasons why India won the tournament.
Since then, Praveen, whose strength is to move the ball both the ways and make the opposition batsmen uncomfortable at the start of the innings, has been an integral part of the Indian limited-over sides. He was initially picked in India's squad for the 2011 World Cup, but missed out on playing in the tournament due to an elbow injury and was replaced by S Sreesanth just a few days before the start of the tournament.
Soon after, he made his Test debut and had a very good run in the format as he picked up 27 wickets in just six matches at an extraordinary average of 25. Unfortunately, six Test matches were all he could manage in his entire career. He suffered a rib fracture before India's tour of Australia in 2011 and since then, played only a handful of ODI and T20I matches before featuring his last international game for India in March 2012.
It has been over five years since he last played for India and he is still not in the reckoning in spite of impressing in the Indian domestic circuit.
The seamer, who will turn 31 in a couple of weeks, has played a total of 59 first-class matches for Uttar Pradesh, Central Zone and other teams in which he has picked up 239 wickets at an average of 23, and 185 wickets in 139 List A matches (including 68 ODIs) at an average of 29.
Despite his peak years being behind him, Praveen is still working hard to make a comeback. He is with the UP team that are taking part in the 2017 Kalpathi-AGS All India Buchi Babu Invitation cricket tournament in Chennai where he is acting as a player and mentor.
Sportskeeda caught up with the out-of-favour Indian pacer on the sidelines of the tournament and here are some of the excerpts from the interview.
You are one of India's best swing bowlers. Did you acquire that swing naturally or did you learn it over the years?
My in-swinger was natural, but I learnt out-swingers later. All my coaches over the years worked on my out swingers and I tried my best as well and that's how my bowling improved.
You played a majority of your cricket with the SG ball. When you travelled to England and Australia/West Indies, you were given Duke and Kookaburra balls respectively. How difficult is it to adapt to different kinds of balls?
Answer: I had a good idea of the SG ball because I played all my domestic cricket with it. And if you manage to swing that, the Duke is very easy. Kookaburra was also swinging, so the balls didn't make much difference.
You played a majority of your matches in India where the wickets assist the spinners. Being a pacer, how difficult was it to cope with that?
Obviously I had to manoeuvre through a lot of difficulties. However, now that I have played domestically for so many years, it doesn't make much of a difference. One modifies his bowling according to the pitch by bowling cutters. Sometimes it swings and reverses as well. So if you have the stamina to bowl for long hours, it'll help you in getting more wickets, naturally.
Just days before the 2011 World Cup, you got injured and had to miss the tournament. Do you regret missing the extravaganza especially since India went on to win the title?
Yes, I'll always regret that I wasn't able to play the World Cup. But it's natural that if you get injured, you really can't do much. But yeah, it does affect me that I wasn't part of the final squad.
When things were going well for you in 2011, you got injured again and your Test career came to an end after playing just six matches. What went through your mind during that period?
I never thought that my Test career would end after just six games especially as I was bowling so well. I still can’t figure out what went wrong. That was when I thought, "bas, ab main kabhi cricket naahi khelunga" (that's it, I won't be playing cricket again). I went into some sort of depression. Adding to this, I was not picked by any IPL franchise. My father helped me a lot at that time and his advice changed my life.
Being a veteran and the most experienced member of the Uttar Pradesh side, what advice do you give the youngsters on the team?
I just tell them to put in maximum effort like we, the seniors, did and give as much as they can to the team.
You still have age on your side and can make a comeback to the national team. Are you working on it? What are the goals you have set for yourself this season?
Yes, I want to make a comeback to the national side. I am looking to take a lot of wickets and stay fit throughout the season. My aim is to play as many matches as possible and be ready for whatever the future holds.
You played all your cricket for India under MS Dhoni. How good was he as a captain?
He was a very good captain, always calm and composed. He helped me with a lot of things, both on and off the field. So, for me, he was a very good captain.
The current Indian fast bowling unit is one of the best the country has ever produced. What is your take on that? What makes it so special?
Sometimes it does happen that all the fast bowlers turn out to be good. On the other hand, sometimes the bunch of bowlers that come up are not as good and need grooming. For eg: Umesh Yadav has been groomed into a frontline bowler; he was in the mix for some time, so he learned the tricks of the trade eventually. The rest of them as well. Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami are all back in the thick of things now, so it's good for India.
We have a swing bowler, Bhuvi, then we have Shami and Umesh who can bowl consistently at 140-145 and Bumrah as well. It provides the skipper with a lot of options as the bowling unit has a lot of variety. Moreover, they work on their change of pace as well, something that is very important in modern-day cricket.
Which batsman was the hardest to bowl at?
No one (laughs).