Dhoni is a believer, says Vinay Kumar

When India pacer R Vinay Kumar made it to the team touring Australia for the Commonwealth Bank Series, not many seemed too convinced with the pick. Some thought that the selectors should have put faith behind Irfan Pathan, who has had a better record in Australia.

Vinay was surely not the selectors’ first choice. He was not an original selection to Australia till last-minute injury to Varun Aaron put him on a plane to Australia. The Bangalore lad is a medium pacer and if India’s coach Duncan Fletcher would have a say, he would go for a genuine pacer rather than a medium pace bowler known mostly for his outswingers.

But his record in the ODI series has been rather contrasting. The Karnataka bowler has beggared belief with nine wickets at a staggering average of 20.11 in the ongoing series.

With an average outing in the tests, without Dhoni’s backing, Vinay perhaps wouldn’t have figured in the playing 11. Fortunately, Dhoni believed in him. He was put through his pace in two Twenty20 encounters and then preferred, at times, to proven quality of Praveen Kumar in the one-day triangular series. From a journeyman, Vinay is now one of the most reliable bowler for the national squad and not just in the IPL circuit, where he would play his fifth edition as a million-dollar cricketer.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda all the way from Australia, Vinay talks of his role as a bowler in the Indian team.

Excerpts:

Dhoni has constantly backed you. He chose you over a proven quality of Praveen Kumar in ODIs and you seem to have lived up to his faith …

Dhoni has been a great support. He told me that he doesn’t believe in pace. He said as long as you have skill, it is more than enough. If you bowl in the right areas, you will definitely be difficult for the batsmen to hit. Dhoni is a great believer and he kept on backing me.

You are known for your outswingers. During the IPL, you once copied Lasith Malinga and ended up getting Adam Gilchrist’s wicket. How come you have never experimented this in the ODI format?

Actually, in T20 cricket, it’s good if you try some different things. IPL is such a format where bowling one dot ball is very crucial. I just tried that new action to bowl a dot ball. I never imagined that the trick would work and I would end up getting Gilchrist’s wicket. I think, I was lucky that way. But such experiments can’t really be implemented in ODIs. In one day cricket, it’s good to keep things simple.

ODI cricket these days are played with two new balls. This new rule has worked in your favour as it helps swing…

Yes this new rule is actually helping me because I am a swing bowler. Usually, the white ball doesn’t swing more than six-seven overs. Very rarely does it swing till the 10^th over. Usually two new balls helps swing at both ends. It will swing for 10-12 overs.

When you debuted in first class cricket in 2004-05, you were lucky to have mentors like Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid playing in the team. What sort of impact did that have on your game?

For the longest time, we (Karnataka cricketers) have looked up to Kumble, Srinath and Dravid. I wanted to achieve what they have and play for the country the way they did. It’s not only when they were playing that they mentored me. Even to this day, they come and tell me how I need to improve on my game.

When you first played for RCB, Zaheer Khan was in the team. How was that like?

Yes, when I played my first IPL for Bangalore, Zaheer was there and his presence helped me a lot while bowling in the middle. He would talk to me in between overs and tell me what areas I need to bowl at.