BENGALURU: Vijaykumar Vyshak was doing his pre-match routines for Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy contest against Bihar in Patna on Friday evening when he received what could potentially be a life-changing call.
The 27-year-old had to literally pinch himself hard when a selector told him that he had to join the India team, his maiden call-up. The Bengaluru pacer has been named in the 15-member India T20 squad for the four-match away series in South Africa beginning in Durban on Nov 8.
“I’m speechless,” Vyshak told TOI as he tried hard to rein in his emotions. “An India call-up is what every cricketer aspires for. It’s a dream come true,” he said.Vyshak, who in 25 First-Class matches has 99 wickets, was called up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru as a replacement for Rajat Patidar two seasons ago. That selection comes on the back of impressive returns for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. Over the past few years, Vyshak has matured as a bowler, varying his pace and working on the knuckleball. With his ability to swing the ball both ways and soak pressure, Vyshak will be a handy resource for skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

Interestingly, Vyshak began as a top-order batter before taking to pace bowling a decade ago. The journey to becoming a dependable bowler wasn’t easy. For starters, Vyshak, who is allergic to gluten, had to cut weight and work on his endurance.
“For a long time, people called me fat and it never really bothered me. A few years ago, I looked at myself in the mirror and I didn’t see a cricketer. What I saw was an overweight youngster, who was struggling with his cricket. That day, I told myself, fitness is everything, work on it,” said Vyshak, who has a career-best of 3 for 5 in domestic T20 cricket.

In 2019, Vyshak found help from former international athlete and coach BP Aiyappa and trainers Sai Prasanna and Puneeth.
“I would be at the Sree Kanteerava stadium before sunrise. After a 4-km warm-up run, Aiyappa would put me through the grind to work on my stamina and endurance. In the evenings I trained in the gym. I did this for two years without looking at the results because I believed my hard work would pay off someday,” stated Vyshak.
Around the same time, he also went to Chennai to work with former India bowling coach Bharat Arun.
“My action was all over the place. I couldn’t jump because of my weight. There were days when I wept to my parents. That’s when I went to work with Arun sir. I did 3-4 sessions with him, and it worked wonders for me. I keep going back to work with Arun sir,” said Vyshak.
On playing in South Africa, Vyshak said, “I’ve bowled in all situations for RCB, and I can adapt quickly. When the opportunity comes, I want to give it my all.”