2017 was the year that marked the end of Praveen Kumar’s professional cricket career in many ways. The right-arm medium pacer, known for creating ‘magic’ with the ball, made his last IPL appearance for Gujarat Lions, played his last first-class and List A matches for Uttar Pradesh that year. His T20 career ended in January 2018. Doors for the Indian team were closed long before in 2012. Barring a few rare appearances in the media and in the Legends League Cricket and a T10 tournament, PK, as he was fondly known in the circuit, has largely been away from the limelight. For a bowler of his calibre, that is a bit hard to believe. With cricket continuing its upward climb in India, rarely does a cricketer of Praveen’s pedigree stay out of business for long, unless chosen so. Praveen revealed he didn’t choose this life. He wanted to be a part of cricket as coach, as mentor, as a guide, or in any capacity but was never given a chance.
In a recent interview with ‘The Lallantop’, the former India cricketer poured his heart out about missing opportunities and not getting his dues after announcing his retirement in 2018. “In 2018, I had expected that one of the IPL franchises would sign me as a bowling coach. Forget that; even my own Uttar Pradesh team did not call me to work with the Ranji team,” he said.
Depression and alcohol addiction
One of the major reasons for teams not offering him coaching or mentorship roles was the misinformation spread about his addiction to alcohol consumption, revealed Praveen.
“The only reason they had was that I used to drink alcohol. But did I drink on the ground or open the bottle in the dressing room?” he said.
The 37-year-old, who represented India in 6 Tests, 68 ODIs and 10 T20Is between 2007 and 2012, said there was a senior Indian cricketer who spread negativity. “When I joined the Indian team, a few senior players asked me to stop drinking and avoid a few other things. However, everyone consumed alcohol but still maligned my name. While many senior players treated us youngsters very well, there was someone who spread negativity around my name. I don’t want to name that person on camera, but everybody knows who ruined my image,” Praveen Kumar added.
He said, he went into depression without even what that meant. “I went into depression. I used to stare at the fan for close to five hours. I was very disheartened to see that nobody was calling me, even after achieving so many things in my career. I went to Haridwar for a few days.”
Praveen Kumar’s international career at a glance
During his professional career that lasted 13 years, Praveen troubled the best of top-order batters with his prodigious swing with the new ball. For someone who didn’t have pace to his aid, Praveen was incredibly crafty. His mental toughness and ability to bowl long spells even on unresponsive tracks made him a must-have. After making his mark for UP in the first-class circuit, Praveen broke into the Indian side in late 2007 in an ODI against Pakistan in Jaipur. But his real break came during India’s tour of Australia a month later.
His spells with the new ball were one of the main reasons why India won the best-of-three final against Australia in the CB series. For the next couple of years, Praveen was MS Dhoni’s main weapon with the new ball in white-ball cricket. So good was his exploits in ODIs and T20Is that the selectors gave him a go in the Test side during the West Indies tour in 2011. He returned with 12 wickets in three matches and confirmed his place in the Indian side for the following England tour. He was easily India’s shining light on that disastrous series where India lost all four Tests. Praveen picked up 15 wickets in three Tests, got his name on the Lord’s Honours Board with a five-wicket haul and scored valuable runs with the bat.
Injuries, however, never allowed Praveen Kumar to have a long and uninterrupted career. He missed out on being a World Cup winner in 2011 due to injury. He played his last international match in March 2012 against South Africa.
