Vinay working to add new dimension to his game

All-round view

While the National selectors appear to have shut their mind on R Vinay Kumar, who continues to top domestic charts in bowling, the Karnataka skipper hasn’t stopped reinventing himself and providing a more attractive package of himself.

“The last two years, my performance has been really good,” said Vinay when asked if it hurts him not to find himself in the Senior National team.

The right-arm paceman was the highest wicket-taker in domestic cricket last season with 51 scalps from 11 first-class games while he claimed 39 from nine matches in 2013-14.

Besides bagging wickets in a heap, Vinay scored two first-class tons in the last two seasons and the 31-year-old said he was making a conscious effort to add new dimension and direction to his game.

“Last year I got the award for being the best all-rounder in the country and this year I received the best bowler award. I am just waiting for my chance (in National team) and hopefully it will come soon. I am eyeing another good performance from myself again, both with the ball and the bat. I am seriously working on my batting from the last two years and the result is I got two (first-class) hundreds in the last two years.

“In KPL also, I came up the order and took care of the batting. I am trying to develop myself into a genuine all-rounder but bowling will remain my area of priority. Batting these days, irrespective of which format you are playing, has become very crucial. The contribution from lower middle-order batsmen is very important,” he analysed. Karnataka play Assam in their Ranji opener here from Thursday and Vinay felt a good start was important in his team’s quest for a hat-trick of Ranji titles. “Pressure was there last year also but we know how to come out of it. Definitely we would want to win one more time and make it a hat-trick. To achieve that we need to take one step at a time, one game at a time and not think too far ahead . We will give it our best shot.”

Former Karnataka seamer and Assam coach K Sanath Kumar termed the opening match as a win-win situation for the hosts. “We shouldn’t play for survival,” Sanath said. “I have asked them to play fearless cricket and that’s the only way to push a strong side like Karnataka. It’s good that we are facing Karnataka first… If we can somehow get the better of them, it will help boost our confidence and if we don’t get the desired result, there is no shame. At least the best team in the group will be out of our way,” he reasoned.