Young Vijayakumar scores cricket hat-trick

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Friday September 17, 2010 00:00

Botswana participated in seven games and Vijayakumar was the man-of-the-match in four and went on to scoop the player-of-the series award as well. Vijayakumar scored a total of 383 runs in the tournament, making him the top scorer, 38 runs ahead of his runner-up.

Despite his age, Vijayakumar was given a big role in the team. He and teammate Siddarth Rangaswamy were the opening batsmen. Vijayakumar played the role of bowler as well. In Namibia, Botswana coach Sulaman Chothia gave Vijayakumar a tough task of making sure he scored the most runs. Although he was able to achieve this and even more Botswana palyers failed to qualify for the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2011, a problem Vijayakumar attributes to the team's fluctuating performance.

He said there were instances when the team did not play as a unit, which is why they lost their most crucial games. 'I was disappointed when we lost against Nigeria because they should have been a walkover,' he said. Botswana lost their opening game against Namibia and the final against Kenya.

'Nonetheless I am proud of my achievement at the tournament because it has motivated me to become an even better player,' he said.  Vijayakumar said if it weren't for coach Chothia, he wouldn't have been able to realise his potential. 'When Chothia was introduced as our coach, his theory was to the effect that to become a good cricketer, you have to be a good athlete.' Chothia concentrated on the team's physical fitness before he focused on the skills, something that has worked well for  them as they have improved from sixth position they attained in the last ICC Under-19 tournament to third position this time round.

Vijayakumar however said that with Chothia's expertise, they should have qualified for the World Cup. 'The main problem was that we seldom practised as a team and our practice sessions were held prior to exams and some members of the team weren't able to participate in the daily practices,' he said. However, he said he hasn't lost all hope. He said he believes that with the same team and coach, they should be able to perform well in upcoming international tournaments.

Vijayakumar is currently completing his A' level certificate at Maru-A-Pula School in Gaborone. Surprisingly, this was his first Under-19 international cap. Before then, he played for the Under-15 side although he was not active due to academic commitments. School led him to taking a three-year break from the national team. 'I have just been playing cricket at club level and only stared playing for the national team again this year,' he said.

His father, Karumathil Vijayakumar has also shown interest in his son's achievements. He said previously  they would not allow him to play cricket so he could concentrate on his studies.

'He has now done well at school and this is the time for him to explore other opportunities, cricket especially as it is his first love,' he said. He indicated that they are planning on taking the young cricketer to a cricket academy in Cape town, South Africa, where he will also be pursuing his tertiary education next year. 'If the Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) is happy about his performance when he comes from South Africa, then we would gladly let him continue representing Botswana,' he said.