‘Lalit Modi called me and threatened to end my career’ - Praveen Kumar reflects on story behind his first IPL contract
"I did not want to play for RCB because Bangalore was quite far away from my place, I didn't know English, and the food was not to my liking," Praveen Kumar said.
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Former Indian pacer Praveen Kumar recently talked of how he did not want to represent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the maiden season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. The 37-year-old showed reluctance to join RCB as the city was quite far from his hometown.
He opined that Delhi Daredevils was his preferred destination as the city was very close to his hometown of Meerut. Talking of an incident prior to his maiden IPL season, Praveen Kumar revealed that he was asked to come in and sign some papers but was unaware that he was signing a contract for RCB.
He also claimed that he showed resistance by signing the papers, but the IPL founder, Lalit Modi, threatened to end his career if he did not sign.
"I did not want to play for RCB because Bangalore was quite far away from my place, I didn't know English, and the food was not to my liking. Delhi is quite close to Meerut, which would have allowed me to travel to my home once in a while. However, there was a person who made me sign a paper. I did not know it was the contract. I told them I wanted to play for Delhi and not Bangalore. Lalit Modi called me and threatened to end my career,” Praveen Kumar said in a video on The Lallantop YouTube channel.
He is a pathetic umpire: Praveen Kumar
Praveen Kumar talked about a plethora of topics in his interview with The Lallantop, with one of them being his verdict on veteran official Marais Erasmus. Opining that he is one of the worst umpires in world cricket, the former Indian pacer stated that he always made the wrong decisions.
"He is a pathetic umpire. His decisions are horrible; he gives out when it is not out and gives not out when it is out. We were playing a Test match in Nottingham. I had bowled a lot of overs. Kevin Pietersen was hit on the pads off my bowling, and it was plumb in front. Erasmus adjudged it not out. I told him, 'Tu andha vandha hai kya?' (Are you blind or what?),” he said.
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