New Delhi: Former Indian medium-pacer Praveen Kumar has made a huge revelation that joining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was not his initial inclination and how his hesitancy to be part of the franchise resulted in a shocking reaction from ex-IPL chairman Lalit Modi.
During an interview with Lallantop, Praveen revealed he initially preferred joining Delhi Daredevils, being close to Meerut.
"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 (the then-IPL commissioner) called me and threatened to end my career," Praveen said in the interview.
In the same interview, Praveen addressed the issue of ball-tampering, stating that it is a widespread practice among players. He mentioned that Pakistani bowlers used to engage in it more frequently to enhance their ability to achieve reverse swing.
"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, everyone used to do it. And everyone knows as well. They would scratch it from one side. But you need to know how to use that skill, too. If I scratch the ball and give to someone, one will need to have the skills to reverse-swing it. One has to learn that," Praveen said.
