Vinay Kumar reaches the 500-wicket figure in first-class cricket
Former Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar took a six-wicket haul against Chandigarh on January 27, and in the process, reached the 500-wicket landmark in first-class cricket. The pacer led Karnataka to successive title wins in 2014 and 2015, but after playing for his state team for 15 years. Kumar joined Puducherry to give space to youngsters.
In the on-going Ranji Trophy season, Puducherry have won five out of six matches and could find themselves qualifying for the knockouts. With 43 wickets, the 35-year-old is the leading wicket-taker for the team.
Speaking to Times of India, Kumar said that for him it is never about personal feats but always about the interest of the team.
"It never really mattered to me. That's why I am here right now. My role is to take wickets and win the game for my team. When I enter the ground, I forget everything. My only aim is to win the match.”
Late last year, he took 20 wickets to help Puducherry reach the quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where they lost to Karnataka.
The right-arm medium pacer played 31 ODIs for India, from which he scalped 38 wickets. In the shortest format, he has 10 wickets from nine game and in the only Test that he played in 2012 against Australia, he got one wicket.