The Davangere Express has finally arrived at its station called retirement: Vinay Kumar
Vinay Kumar on Friday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Veteran pacer made his first-class debut for Karnataka in 2004 against Bengal during a Ranji Trophy fixture. Kumar played international cricket, where he picked up a total of 49 wickets from 41 matches across all three formats.
Vinay Kumar was renowned as an Indian national cricket legend, and as a testimony to this claim, he has been the only pacer to have scalped 400+ wickets in the Ranji Trophy and also the only pacer among the top five wicket-takers in the Ranji Trophy. It's not just the longer format that Vinay made an impact with his golden arm, he has the second most wickets in the T20s by an Indian fast bowler with 194 dismissals only behind Jasprit Bumrah (209).
"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. It is not an easy decision to make, however, there comes a time in every sportsperson’s where one has to call it a day."
Vinay Kumar is remarked as one of the finest cricketers and dressing room leaders the state has ever produced. He took the opportunity to thank everyone who supported him throughout his cricketer journey.
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
"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," the Davangere Express said in a statement.
One for the stats pundits: the 37-year-old is the only captain in Indian domestic cricket history to have successfully led a team to two consecutive trebles.
The Karnataka-born cricketer had a seasoned campaign in the Indian Premier League where he represented four teams including the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He affected 105 wickets in 105 matches during his 11 seasons in the cash-rich league. It is noteworthy that he is RCB’s second-highest wicket-taker with 80 dismissals behind Yuzvendra Chahal.
We at Royal Challengers Bangalore would like to congratulate Namma Davangere Express on a fabulous career. Happy retirement, Vinay Kumar, we wish you the best for your future endeavours!
Wishing a stalwart of the Indian domestic circuit, an Indian cricketer, and a former Royal Challenger, Vinay Kumar the best in his retired life! ?
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 26, 2021
ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ ನಮ್ಮ ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಎಕ್ಸ್ಪ್ರೆಸ್ ?#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/vvYX82RmfC
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