 How a broken plank made Praveen Kumar's cricket career
19th Mar 2008 22:01 IST
Agencies
A broken wooden plank that he got moulded as a bat for a mere Rupee one was the first step that Praveen Kumar took towards making a now-successful cricket career despite coming from a family of wrestlers.
The all-rounder, who won two man of the match awards in the four ODIs that he played on the tour of Australia, recalled that one moment that ultimately made him defy his family to pursue what became a passion for him.
"My family was dead against me playing cricket. All of them were wrestlers and wanted to carry the tradition but I was mad about cricket," Praveen said in an interview.
Such was the family's opposition to Praveen's cricketing ambitions that they refused to get him a bat but he soon found a way out of the problem.
"I was in fifth standard when I found this broken wooden plank on the rooftop of my house. I had Rupee one with me... I took along a cousin and got the plank moulded into a bat at a nearby carpenter's shop," he recalled.
The Haryana-player, who was sold for a whopping Rs 1.25 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) bidding, played his first match for a prize money of a mere Rs two against a team from his own neighbourhood.
"Our team won that match. We played several Rs two matches after that," Praveen said.
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