Fast bowler Vinay Kumar retires from international, First-class cricket
What's the story
Fast bowler Vinay Kumar announced his retirement from international and First-class cricket on Friday.
The 37-year-old from Karnataka represented India in one Test, 31 ODIs and nine T20Is.
He also brings down the curtain on a First-class career that spanned over 16 years.
During his professional career, he also featured for a number of Indian Premier League franchises.
Here is more.
Statement
Not an easy decision to make: Vinay
Vinay took to Twitter, announcing his retirement.
"Today, the "Davangere Express" after running for 25 years and passing so many stations of cricketing life, has finally arrived at the station called retirement," he wrote in a statement.
"It is not an easy decision to make, however, there comes a time in every sportperson's where one has to call it a day."
Twitter Post
Here is the full statement
Thankyou all for your love and support throughout my career. Today I hang up my boots. 🙏🙏❤️ #ProudIndian pic.twitter.com/ht0THqWTdP
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) February 26, 2021
Career
A look at his international career
Vinay made his international debut at the 2012 ICC World T20.
He finished with 10 T20I wickets from nine games.
The right-arm pacer was rather impressive in the ODI format, having bagged 38 wickets, including a best match haul of 4/30.
Meanwhile, the 2012 Perth Test remained his only appearance in the whites.
Vinay last played for India in November 2013.
Domestic
A stellar domestic career
Vinay had his best seasons of domestic cricket, playing for Karnataka.
He snapped up 504 wickets in First-class cricket at an average of 22.44 from 139 matches.
Till date, Vinay remains the leading wicket-taker (442) among fast bowlers in Ranji Trophy history.
Overall, he has the fourth-most wickets after Rajinder Goel (637), S Venkataraghavan (530) and former Karnataka captain Sunil Joshi (479).
Stints
He led Karnataka to several title wins
As a captain, Vinay led Karnataka to two Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Irani Cup titles in 2013/14 and 2014/15 respectively.
In 2019, he joined Puducherry for a one-year stint, picking up a total 45 wickets in the season at an average of 11.31.
Besides First-class cricket, Vinay also registered 225 List A and 194 T20 wickets.
IPL
Vinay played for four teams in the IPL
Vinay's career in the Indian Premier League spanned for 11 years.
He featured for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first few seasons.
He has also been a part of title-winning teams Kolkata Knight Riders (2014) and Mumbai Indians (2015 and 2017).
The fast bowler also represented Kochi Tuskers in 2011.
Overall, Vinay finished with 105 wickets from as many IPL games.