New Delhi: It has not happened till date that there should be a season of the Indian Premier League and no new player emerges from it. In every season, some young or new players leave a mark of their performance. Some of them are also successful in maintaining their position. If the very first match against Delhi Capitals is any indication, then fast bowler Vishak Vijaykumar could prove to be the discovery of this season. In his first match, this bowler of Royal Challengers Bangalore played a big role in winning the team.
RCB’s young pacer gave 20 runs in 4 overs and took 3 wickets against Delhi Capitals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. His victims were not even small batsmen. Vishak first disposed of Delhi captain David Warner cheaply. Then dismissed vice-captain Akshar Patel and finally took the wicket of Lalit Yadav.
some hard work, some luck
Vishak’s bowling was no less than a new energy for Bangalore, who were struggling due to their bowling this season. With good pace, Vishak kept the Delhi batsmen on the backfoot and showed his prowess on the pitch and field, helping batsmen like Chinnaswamy.
All this would not have been possible if Rajat Patidar was not out of the tournament due to injury. All this would not have been possible if Vishak’s father had not quit his Hindustan Lever job and if his coach had not defied him.
Coach mocked, accepted the challenge
26-year-old Vishak’s first love was not fast bowling, but batting, that too opening. In an interview given to Free Press Journal, Vishak’s father Vijaykumar told that Vishak used to bowl part time along with batting. Vishak was overweight at that time and in such a situation his coach wanted him to gain fitness.
For this, the coach chose such a way to challenge Vishak which could sting him. The coach made fun of Vishak and said that he would never be able to bowl fast because of his weight. Accepting the challenge from here itself, Vishak made fast bowling his passion. Gradually he got better at it and later Karnataka veteran pacer Abhimanyu Mithun played a big role in grooming him.
Vishak’s father gave up a good job for the sake of his son and kept taking him to practice. He later got a job in the Karnataka State Cricket Association itself. By the way, Vishak is not only a cricketer, but he has also done Masters in International Relations.
Debut two years ago, strong performance
The right-arm fast bowler made his ODI and T20 debut for Karnataka in 2021. After this, he also made his first class debut with the Ranji Trophy season last year. Within the last two years, Vishak has impressed a lot with his bowling. Has taken 38 wickets in 10 first class matches. At the same time, 11 victims have come in his account in 7 List A matches and now he has taken 25 wickets in 15 T20 matches.
