Former India pace bowler Vinay Kumar announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Former India pace bowler Vinay Kumar announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Friday.

The 37-year-old cricketer, also referred to as the “Davangere Express”, played one Test, 31 ODIs, and 9 T20Is for India, claiming 49 international wickets in all. He last represented India in a one-dayer against Australia in Bengaluru in November 2013.

In a social media post, Vinay Kumar announced that he is walking away from all forms of cricket. In an official statement uploaded on Twitter, Vinay Kumar 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.”

Apart from India and Karnataka, Vinay Kumar also represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Mumbai Indians, the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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 great minds: Vinay Kumar

In the statement, Vinay Kumar termed himself lucky to have played alongside some of the greats of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. He said:

"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 pacer added that he has been fortunate to represent India at the highest level and gave it all he had.

“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 further said.

While Vinay Kumar did not taste much success at the international level, he did claim 4/30 in an ODI against England in Delhi in 2011. He was a legend in domestic cricket and led Karnataka to two consecutive Ranji Trophy titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Well done Vinay on a fantastic career. Your contribution to Karnataka cricket and India is praise worthy. Congratulations, you can look back with pride. Best wishes for the future.

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) February 26, 2021

In 139 first-class games, Vinay Kumar claimed 504 wickets at an average of 22.44 with 26 five-fors and five 10-wicket match hauls. He played his last first-class game for Puducherry in February 2020.