IPL 2019: Vinay Kumar hopeful of featuring in the upcoming season despite going unsold in auction

Vinay Kumar had a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 season with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He played only in the opening two matches for his side and was then sidelined for the rest of the tournament following his poor show with the ball. He was also criticised a lot on social media by the fans and come the IPL 2019, he was released by the KKR franchise and went unsold in the auction as well.

Having said that Vinay Kumar, the former Karnataka captain, is still hopeful of a stint with some team in the upcoming season. He realises that IPL is a long tournament and the players will get injured at some stage. Moreover, with the foreign players returning mid-season ahead of the World Cup will also open the doors for the unsold cricketers like him.

“I am still hopeful of a call-up because it’s a long tournament and some niggles here and there to some player might open the door for me,” Vinay Kumar said while speaking to Sportstar.

I was KKR’s go-to bowler in the nets

Vinay Kumar, however, has expressed his disappointment for the people judging him only after the two matches last season. He pointed out how challenging it is to bowl in the powerplays and at the death while also recalling being the lead bowler in the nets for the franchise.

Kumar bowled two overs each in the two matches he played last year and his skipper Dinesh Karthik used him at the first and 20th over of the innings. He returned with the figures of 2/30 and 0/35 only to be dropped from the team for the rest of the matches.

“Before the 2018 IPL began, I was KKR’s go-to bowler in the nets as well as all the practice games. But once the season started, I got only two matches where I was asked to bowl the first and the 20th over. It’s a very challenging ask to bowl an over each at the start and at the death. So if people made up their minds after watching me in just two matches, then I don’t know what to say,” Kumar further added.

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