Article on Vinay Kumar in Mumbai Mirror

[Prakat]

"I feel bad that no one is recognising me. Everyone knows that I have been doing well for the last six years. That was Vinay Kumar in 2010. There was anguish, frustration, and a fear of the unknown future. Whenever you bumped into him during that period you sympathised but rarely felt empathy. Inside your mind, you thought, Å¢h, nice guy and all that but India player ... hmmm may be not? It was exactly that kind of stereotype that Vinay was trying to fight against. Vinay is almost an anachronism in this age of brash youngsters. The modern India likes its sporting stars hyper confident. Almost devoid of self-doubts, having confidence bordering on arrogance, possessing talent that screams at you and Vinay doesnÃÕ have any of this. Even now, when one is trying to write a piece complimenting Vinay, doubts resides in the back of the mind. Can he last long at this level? Can he represent the Indian attack with great success? Or will he be just a bowler for a season or two? It must be difficult being Vinay when journalists like this correspondent who should know better than get carried away with people who look like they have talent. How much self-doubt could he have? How much would he have struggled (struggling?) to defeat stereotypes like that? What must be going on in his mind? ŧor me I donÃÕ think about all those things, Vinay said about those perceptions. Ū just go out there and give my best which is important, whether you are playing for India or Karnataka, any game. To keep it simple is really helping me. I donÃÕ think much about what they say about me. I try to give my best, batting, bowling or fielding. The thing with Vinay is that itÃÔ not as if he has not accomplished any heroics at domestic level. On his debut as a 20-year-old in a Ranji game, he took the wickets of Sourav Ganguly and Rohan Gavaskar. He kept taking wickets but the recognition never came and a increasingly frustrated Vinay sought the counsel of his state seniors Anil Kumble and Rahuld Dravid. ŵhey would say that your day will come. DonÃÕ get desperate. If you do, then your bowling will suffer. Vinay learned to wait. The recognition is slowly coming. Å©e is one of the hardest-working cricketers I have worked with, his coach Eric Simons said. źou get guys with natural skill, you get guys who just do it through really hard work. Å©e is one of these guys. He has got a lot of skill, but he has got a great work ethic and he has embraced that really tremendously in the sense of going out and doing the work he does. He is just getting the rewards for his hard work. There Simons has also given life to that belief about Vinay. That he is one of those ÅÈuys who just do it through hard work? ItÃÔ difficult to shrug that off. He moves the ball just a little and doesnÃÕ provide any dramatic slow motion visuals. He is not going to be seen anytime soon on television selling you some product. Even the call up to this series wasnÃÕ straightforward; he was only drafted in after Varun Aaron got injured. And he had a nightmarish experience on Test debut when David Warner kept hitting him all around the WACA. ŵhat day was ordinary. I really thank the coach and bowling coach for backing me. When the senior players and captain and coach have trust in you, definitely you will do well. ItÃÔ what Simons said about Sreesanth that actually caught what the team thinks about Vinay. Ū think itÃÔ one of those clichñÔ that you take the horse to the water but you canÃÕ make him drink it, Simons said about Sreesanth. Vinay is the anti Sreesanth. Not as much talent but a lot more sweat and right attitude. ItÃÔ difficult to say how long he will last at this level - see that doubt still exists?! - but itÃÔ easy to appreciate him. He has earned a lot of brownie points on goodwill but his tenure in the Indian team will depend on how long he can consistently keep performing and converting doubters like some of us. http://mumbaimirror.com/article/59/20120219201202190211334453e1421b0/Sweat--Attitude.html

[Sid]

Vinay is the anti Sreesanth

JPK :fight: Dravid_THEWALL

[Magneto]

Good write-up. He'll take time and a lot more performances to convert the doubters, and still the Doubting Thomases may not give up doubting.

[virufan]

He is ok for ODIs

[achilles]

VK, you get a lot of stick from everyone because of the way you've come into the team.

[MCcricket]

This bloke gives his 100% , g8 trier, good for ODI'S , HAS SHOWN FANTASTIC IMPROVEMENT,MUNAF, SREESANTH, VRV, RP, MITHUN, NEED TO TAKE A LESSON FROM HIM.