Am in the best phase of my career, insists discarded Vinay Kumar

R Vinay Kumar holds the ignominy of being the first and only Indian bowler till date to have conceded a whopping 100-plus runs in nine overs in an ODI but the pacer insists that he is in the form his life. Vinay, whose mid 120’s kmph pace has been his biggest drawback with international batsmen playing him with ease, has troubled the domestic willow wielders with his slower deliveries having got 50 scalps from last 10 domestic games. “I would say I’m at my best at the moment. I am happy with the way I’m performing,” the Karnataka skipper said on the eve of their Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinal against Jharkhand today. “I’ve been performing well in whatever matches I played. Be it Ranji or Irani, I’ve been doing well. The rest is up to the selectors. Every match is important for me and I want to contribute in our team’s win,” the Karnataka pace spearhead who took five-for despite being hammered for 85 runs said. [caption id=“attachment_1433423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vinay Kumar. Reuters[/caption] Karnataka are in the middle of a dream run and are eyeing a treble but the skipper said they would cross the bridge when it comes as their focus is on the match against Jharkhand at the moment. “We have been doing well as a team. After our Ranji and Irani triumphs, all the focus is now on winning the Vijay Hazare. But we want to go match by match and not looking too far ahead to the final.” He further said they’re not underestimating Jharkhand even as their opponents did not boast any big names. “In limited overs, you can’t underestimate a side. We are not taking any team lightly. We’re not thinking much on the opposition but our focus is on our strength. If we play to our potential we can beat any side,” the 30-year-old said. Vinay Kumar said they have a balanced side with both batting and bowling as their main strengths. Heaping praise on youngster Karun Nair who struck a maiden century in a record 209-run partnership with Robin Uthappa, he said: “He’s a good player. He’s been scoring runs whenever he gets an opportunity. It’s good for the side that we have players like him. The way Nair and Robin turned the match around is really commendable.” “In both the departments we have very good players. In the last match after losing four early wickets the big partnership came. Rarely you see that kind of performance.” “In bowling also, myself, (Abhimanyu) Mithun and (HS) Sharath make a formidable line-up. Even we have a good bench strength,” Vinay Kumar added. The ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy in two venues here has seen wickets that aid seamers and Vinay said it’s a good sign in domestic cricket to prepare the batsmen for overseas tours. “It’s challenging for batsmen where they can improve their batting. When we go abroad, these kind of wickets will definitely help them perform really well. If we play 10 games, we get these kind of wickets in only one or two games. I don’t think there would be any problem for spinners.” The former RCB seamer will be seen in KKR colours in IPL VII and he said he’s looking forward towards playing under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy. “We have a very good leader in Gautam Gambhir. The team is really good. It’s a balanced side, hope we win the trophy. We played many domestic matches here. I don’t think it will be difficult to adjust. “Most of the Indians have played together. We’re looking forward to it. If the fans keep supporting us definitely we’ll win the title,” he added. PTI