Veteran Indian pacer Vinay Kumar announced his retirement on Friday, February 26. The speedster took it to Twitter and said: “Today “Davangere Express” after running for 25 years and passing so many stations of cricketing life, has finally arrived to a station called “retirement. With lot of mixed emotions, I Vinay Kumar R hereby announce my retirement from international and first-class cricket. It is not an easy decision to make, however, there comes a time in every sportsperson’s life where one has to call it a day.”
He also expressed his gratitude as he played with the likes of Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir. “My cricketing experience has been enriched by playing under the great minds of Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma to name the few. Also, I was blessed to have Sachin Tendulkar as a mentor in Mumbai Indians.”
“I have been fortunate enough to represent my country at the highest level and give it all I had to this beautiful game. My journey has been filled with many moments that I will cherish lifelong. I came to Bangalore from Davangere to pursue my dreams. I am very grateful to Karnataka State Cricket Association for giving me the opportunity to represent the state team. From here I went on to play for India and represented the nation in all the formats of the game,” he added.
Kumar, whose speciality was swing, took 49 wickets in international format. His 4 for 30 against England in 2011 is considered as his best figures in ODI. He played only one Test in 2012 and managed to take only one wicket.
The Karnataka lad represented Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Kochi Tuskers Kerela in the Indian Premier League.