Vinay Kumar at the RCB Unbox event.© Twitter
Former India pacer Vinay Kumar was inducted into the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Hall of Fame during the RCB Unbox event on Tuesday. Vinay joins the elite company of RCB icons Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. “Formidable cricketer, Our third-highest wicket-taker. We’re celebrating Namma Vinay Kumar as we engrave his name on the elite list. – RCB Hall of Fame,” RCB wrote on X.
Vinay also known as “The Davangere Express”, was a formidable face during his time with RCB. He was a part of the franchise from 2008 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2013. He was the leading wicket-taker for RCB for two consecutive seasons with 19 wickets in 2012 and 23 in the 2013 season.
The Karnataka-born cricketer had an illustrious IPL career where he represented four teams which included Mumbai Indians, RCB, Kochi Tuskers Kerela and Kolkata Knight Riders.
He claimed 105 wickets in 105 matches during the 11 seasons that he spent in the cash-rich league. He is RCB’s third-highest wicket-taker with 80 dismissals behind spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (139) and Harshal Patel (99).
He made his first-class debut for Karnataka in 2004 against Bengal during a Ranji Trophy game.
He also played international cricket, making 9 T20I, 31 ODI and sole Test appearances where he picked up a total of 49 wickets from 41 matches across all three formats.
He made his mark in the domestic format becoming the only pacer to have taken more than 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. He also features as the only pacer among the top five wicket-takers in the Ranji Trophy.
Last year, South African stars AB de Villiers and Chirs Gayle became the first players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
De Villiers represented the side from 2011-2021 in 157 matches. He scored 4,522 runs at an average of 41.10. He scored two centuries and 37 fifties for the side at a strike rate of over 158.
Gayle represented RCB from 2011-17 in 91 matches, scoring 3,420 runs at a strike rate of over 154 and five centuries and 21 half-centuries. His best score is 175*.
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