‘Everyone Used To Tamper With Ball A Bit, Pak Bowlers Used To Do It A Lot’: Praveen Kumar

Former India seamer Praveen Kumar gave a lengthy interview in which he has made quite a few revealations. The ex-India pacer who hails from Meerut narrowly missed out on playing the 2011 ODI World Cup after he sustained an injury. He had replaced by S Sreesanth who got to boast of a World Cup winner’s medal. The new-ball bowler played a pivotal role in India’s CB Series win Down Under under captain MS Dhoni.

Among other eyebrow-raising statements, perhaps the biggest revealation that Kumar made while talking to journalist Saurabh Dwivedi on Lallantop’s show “Guest In The Newsroom” was that before there were so many cameras, everyone used to tamper the ball a bit to get reverse swing. However, he said that it was the Pakistan bowlers who used to do it the most.

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“Everyone does a little bit; they (Pakistan bowlers) do it a bit more. That’s what I’ve heard. Now, there are cameras everywhere. Earlier, all used to do it. And everyone knows as well. They would scratch it from one side, but one must know how to use that skill, too. If I scratch the ball and give to someone, one must have the skills to reverse-swing it. One has to learn that,” Praveen said in the interaction.

A clip has also gone viral on social media:

Praveen Kumar’s International Career In Numbers

The right-arm speedster represented India in all the three formats and played 6 Tests, 68 ODIs and 10 T20Is. In these, he managed to scalp 27, 77 and 8 wickets respectively. Kumar made his internationl debut in 2007 and last donned India colours in 2012. However, he came to be known for his shot-tempered nature and was even suspended during the 2013 Vijay Hazare Trophy for using foul language against a batter. Praveen had been involved in a verbal argument with fans too during a net session in Australia.