Praveen Kumar Says He Will Always Regret on Missing Out the 2011 World Cup

Jan 9, 2019 at 4:00 PM

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Praveen Kumar Says He Will Always Regret on Missing Out the 2011 World Cup

For a bowler of Praveen Kumar’s stature, it is pretty unfortunate that his career spanned only four years. The medium pacer bagged 112 wickets for India across formats during his short international career.

He burst onto the scene during India’s victorious campaign in Common wealth Bank Series in Australia; as he scalped ten wickets in the series and six in the first two finals which India won to clinch the tri nation series for the very first time in Down Under.

He then progressed as an international bowler and was initially picked in the squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, but was later replaced by Shantakumaran Sreesanth after the former suffered an elbow injury. He made his Test debut immediately after that during India’s disastrous of England in 2011, but his Test career could progress for only six Tests only.

He suffered a rib fracture ahead of the series against Australia in 2011 and was hence overlooked and has never represented India in the longest format of the game since then. He then played his last international match for India in 2012. Despite impressive performances in the domestic circuit, Praveen hasn’t been able to break into the national team again, but still at 31, the pacer is optimistic of returning to the national team before putting down curtains on his career.

He is presently with the Uttar Pradesh team, which is taking part in the 2017 Kalpathi AGS All India Buchi Babu Invitational Cricket Tournament in Chennai where he will be seen in action as a player cum mentor. Sportskeeda caught up with the pacer during the sideline of the tournament and here are some excerpts from the Interview.

You are one of India’s best swing bowlers. Did you acquire that swing naturally or did you learn it over the years?

My in-swinger was natural, but I learnt out-swingers later. All my coaches over the years worked on my out swingers, and I tried my best as well, and that’s how my bowling improved.

You played a majority of your cricket with the SG ball. When you travelled to England and Australia/West Indies, you were given Duke and Kookaburra balls respectively. How difficult is it to adapt to different kinds of balls?

I had a good idea of the SG ball because I played all my domestic cricket with it. And if you manage to swing that, the Duke is very easy. Kookaburra was also swinging, so the balls didn’t make much difference.

You played a majority of your matches in India where the wickets assist the spinners. Being a pacer, how difficult was it to cope with that?

Obviously, I had to manoeuvre through a lot of difficulties. However, now that I have played domestically for so many years, it doesn’t make much of a difference. One modifies his bowling according to the pitch by bowling cutters. Sometimes it swings and reverses as well. So if you have the stamina to bowl for long hours, it’ll help you in getting more wickets, naturally.

Just days before the 2011 World Cup, you got injured and had to miss the tournament. Do you regret missing the extravaganza especially since India went on to win the title?

Yes, I’ll always regret that I wasn’t able to play the World Cup. But it’s natural that if you get injured, you really can’t do much. But yeah, it does affect me that I wasn’t part of the final squad.

When things were going well for you in 2011, you got injured again, and your Test career came to an end after playing just six matches. What went through your mind during that period?

I never thought that my Test career would end after just six games especially as I was bowling so well. I still can’t figure out what went wrong. That was when I thought, “bas, ab main kabhi cricket naahi khelunga” (that’s it, I won’t be playing cricket again). I went into some sort of depression. Adding to this, I was not picked by any IPL franchise. My father helped me a lot at that time, and his advice changed my life.

Being a veteran and the most experienced member of the Uttar Pradesh side, what advice do you give the youngsters on the team?

I just tell them to put in maximum effort like we, the seniors, did and give as much as they can to the team.

You still have age on your side and can make a comeback to the national team. Are you working on it? What are the goals you have set for yourself this season?

Yes, I want to make a comeback to the national side. I am looking to take a lot of wickets and stay fit throughout the season. My aim is to play as many matches as possible and be ready for whatever the future holds.

You played all your cricket for India under MS Dhoni. How good was he as a captain?

He was a very good captain, always calm and composed. He helped me with a lot of things, both on and off the field. So, for me, he was a very good captain.

The current Indian fast bowling unit is one of the best the country has ever produced. What is your take on that? What makes it so special?

“Sometimes it does happen that all the fast bowlers turn out to be good. On the other hand, sometimes the bunch of bowlers that come up are not as good and need grooming. For eg: Umesh Yadav has been groomed into a frontline bowler; he was in the mix for some time, so he learned the tricks of the trade eventually. The rest of them as well. Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami are all back in the thick of things now, so it’s good for India.

We have a swing bowler, Bhuvi, then we have Shami and Umesh who can bowl consistently at 140-145 and Bumrah as well. It provides the skipper with a lot of options as the bowling unit has a lot of variety. Moreover, they work on their change of pace as well, something that is very important in modern-day cricket.”

Which batsman was the hardest to bowl at?

No one (laughs).

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