"I couldn't sleep that night because of that" - Vyshak Vijaykumar shares incident that motivated him to lose weight

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fast bowler Vyshak Vijaykumar has shared an incident that motivated him to lose weight before his debut for the Karnataka state team.

Vyshak Vijaykumar earned his selection for RCB in IPL 2023 as an injury replacement for Rajat Patidar, thanks to his phenomenal success in domestic cricket with Karnataka in the 2022-23 season.

However, Vyshak encountered tough moments before he came into the limelight. He was bulky because of his Thyroid disorder and that drew him enough criticism.

But the Bengaluru-based cricketer stood tall and did everything to get into proper shape and prove everyone wrong. Speaking about a birthday celebration incident in Bengaluru that triggered him to lose weight, Vyshak Vijaykumar told Royal Challengers Bangalore:

"We were in Brahma Brews and we had a lot of friends like cricket friends. There was this one person who used to be my competitor and then he made fun of me. He said this guy is pretty heavy and that guy literally dropped me."

"Then my (bowling) action was pretty bad at the time because I was jumping out and bowling a different way. They said that I was chucking the ball. He also commented about that."

He added:

"When I was going back home, those words were registered in my mind and it kept playing all night. I couldn't sleep that night because of that. The next day finally I realised and looked myself in the mirror and that is when my journey started."

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"It was pretty hurtful for me" - Vyshak Vijaykumar on being ignored by Karnataka in 2018

Vyshak Vijaykumar was the highest wicket-taker for the Mysuru Warriors for two consecutive seasons in the now-defunct Karnataka Premier League in 2017 (10 wickets) and 2018 (11 wickets).

Vyshak was overlooked from Karnataka's domestic selection and only made his debut in 2021. The player has admitted that his fitness standards were not up to the mark and it turned out to be a barrier to his progress.

Vyshak said (via Royal Challengers Bangalore):

"It was pretty hurtful for me because everybody used to tell me that I did well in the KPL so obviously you deserved a chance then. But when I reflect now, it was all about my fitness because I was pretty heavy back then I was 104 killos."

Vyshak Vijaykumar has played five matches this season for RCB and claimed six wickets at an economy rate of 10.35. He had figures of 3 for 20 on his IPL debut against the Delhi Capitals on April 15. It was the best bowling figures registered by a RCB bowler on his IPL debut.