South Zone medium pacer Vijay Kumar has a lot on his mind. There are wickets to take, runs to make, but more importantly, there is a dream fulfill. Vijay wants to earn enough to give his parents — who are manual labourers — a life of luxury and a home in their village Taidikavva, 500 kms from Hyderabad.After two years on the domestic circuit, a lot has changed for 21-year-old, who worked as a porter at a truck depot, earning Rs. 50 for his efforts. The boy, who came for the district-level trials bare footed, now sports branded shoes. And, gone are the days of playing the sport he loves in just a lungi! Still, he remains a simpleton. After an impressive season with Andhra, Vijay has been picked to represent the South Zone for the first time. Vijay, who speaks only Telugu, has eased into the team with the help of other Andhra players, who double up as his translators. “Language is certainly a problem. Besides, he can’t even understand positions on the field. If one tells him to field at, say, mid-on; he has to be shown the place where he has to stand,” said his Andhra teammate, Thilak Naidu, who is a big source of encouragement. Another Andhra teammate, Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna, talked of Vijay’s dislike for spikes. “Ask him what is in-swing delivery and he can’t explain. He doesn’t even know how to fix the spikes to his shoe. Before a Ranji game, he once asked ‘can I bowl without my shoes?’” he quipped, adding that the best part of his bowling was is ablility to generate bounce on any track.Early days of hardship made Vijay a workhorse performer on the field. He is known for his long spells and effort balls. “Since I used to lift heavy sacks full of grains and vegetables, I have developed strong shoulders. And this helps me a lot while bowling,” Vijay said. Vijay, who finished with three wickets in the game against East Zone here, said that cricket had changed his life. “What I earned from the last two seasons went in clearing debts. Now I want to ensure that my parents lead a comfortable life. A house in the village is also there as a future project,” he said. After meeting Vijay, one realises that domestic cricket isn’t all about getting the national call-up. It could be more.
