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Journalism of Courage
After being plagued with an ankle injury for long time,Punjab medium-pacer Vikram Raj Vir Singh is back to his bowling ways and feeling fully fit ahead of second season of Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kings XI Punjab in South Africa.
An important cog of Yuvraj Singh led Kings XI Punjab side,VRV Singh had to keep away from competitive cricket for over nine months owing to this injury. Singh,who earned a call-up to the Test team in Australia last year as replacement for injured Zaheer Khan,had shown fine form in domestic cricket and bagged 11 wickets for Kings XI Punjab in the first edition of IPL. After his Kings XI stint,blinking pain in his left ankle was bothering VRV a lot.
He said,”There was a sense of discomfort in my left ankle while I was bowling,so I went for a bone scan in Mumbai which revealed three bone spurs. After consulting,Kings XI’s Australian physio Pat Farhat I decided to go for surgery.” It was Pat Farhat who arranged for him an operation in Sydney in late June.
Farhat supervised his rehabilitation for four months in Australia. Due to this,he had to miss Ranji Trophy season for Punjab which further dented his team’s performances during the season. The Punjab Cricket Association bore VRV’s flights and accommodation expenses as he is no more contracted with BCCI.
Returning to Chandigarh in October,VRV than decided to seek some expertise and sought Dav Whatmore’s permission if he could attend NCA programme. Making sure that his rehabilitation was going smoothly,this 24-year-old pacer joined NCA in January.
The paceman returned to Chandigarh in late October with a programme of exercises to follow. But he decided to leave no stone unturned and called up Dav Whatmore to see if he could attend the NCA for expert supervision. Throwing light on the NCA rehab experience he said,”The academy’s physical training staff comprising Paul Close and Paul Chapman,along with chief coach Dav Whatmore,monitored kept a close look on my progress and gave me a thumbs-up.”
Updating on his injury and rehab,VRV said,”I am bowling with the same rigour in the nets and feeling fit. Though,I was feeling fit in February,but I refrained from competitive cricket. I did not want to aggravate or recur the injury,” adding further on his thoughts on upcoming IPL championship,he said,”I am quite keen to bowl for Kings XI Punjab in the second edition of IPL in South Africa. Bowling on South African tracks would suit me.”
On being asked if Sreesanth’s absence from the Kings XI squad would hamper their team’s chances,he was quick to add,”Surely,he will be missed. But we have some fine pacers in the line-up,moreover he will be with us for IPL. I hope he is fit in between the championship.”
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