In a major development, the KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association) has come forward and named former India cricketer Vinay Kumar as Karnatakaโs head coach ahead of the upcoming domestic season. At 42 years old, Vinay Kumar will be taking over the role and will hope to put in his best performance.ย
It is worth noting that Deepak Chougule will be part of his support staff as the fielding coach. Notably, this will be Vinay Kumarโs first coaching role at Karnataka, as he was also recently the head coach of Hubli Tigers in the Maharaja T20 Trophy. As for his experience overseas, the former cricketer was a bowling coach for MI Emirates in the ILT20 and was the talent scout for Mumbai Indians in the IPL after his retirement from cricket in 2021.ย
As for his performances in the Ranji Trophy, it is interesting to note that Vinay Kumar remains the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with a whopping 442 wickets to his name. In 139 First-Class matches in his career, Vinay Kumar took a total of 504 wickets at an average of 22.44 runs.ย
Having played one Test and 31 ODI matches for the Indian team, the former seamer has vast experience to his name in the IPl as well, having won the tournament three times with Kolkata Knight Riders (2014) and Mumbai Indians (2015, 2017).
Vinay Kumar opened up on his appointment
After his appointment as Karnatakaโs head coach was made official, Vinay Kumar took centre stage and talked about how big an honour it is for him to take over as the head coach of the side.ย
โIt is a privilege to lead Karnataka, first as a captain, and now as a head coach. I’m really thankful to KSCA for giving me this opportunity. We achieved great results back then, but now it is a different ball game as a coach. With coaching experience under my belt with MI Emirates, Hubli Tigers, and as a talent scout with Mumbai Indians, it has given me a lot of exposure to talk with top coaches. I am confident that I can do a good job. We have a fantastic set of boys,โ Vinay Kumar told the Deccan Herald.ย
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