The cricket world has been rocked lately by the bombshell allegations made by former Indian bowler Praveen Kumar about his playing career. It is common knowledge that Indian cricket had some fascinating and contentious moments in the early 2000s. There was no shortage of cricketers from tiny towns and cities on the international side.
Praveen Kumar is still among the greatest instances of a player from a minority region who achieved success despite their upbringing. Praveen Kumar, an Uttar Pradesh native, had a significant impact in both the Indian Premier League and international cricket (IPL).
Praveen Kumar represented India in six Test matches, 68 ODIs, and ten Twenty20 matches until his career took a bad turn due to rumors that he had personal problems. Although Kumar’s drinking problems were the subject of several stories, the former pacer recently stepped forward to discuss the same narrative that had been created.
He disclosed that the senior Indian players informed him that while everyone consumes alcohol, they kept it a secret to protect their reputations.
“The elders in the Indian squad told me, ‘drink nahi karna, yeh nahi karna, woh nahi karna’ (Don’t drink, don’t do this, don’t do that). The more seasoned players stated. Karte sab hai. ‘PK toh drink karta hai’ is the badnaam that comes to mind when you hear this phrase. In a video posted on The Lallantop YouTube channel, Praveen Kumar claimed, “Sab peete hai (everyone does it), but they tarnished me saying I drink.”
Those who have direct knowledge of me understand who I am: Praveen Kumar
When asked who offered him such advice—Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, or Sourav Ganguly, for example—the former bowler, 37, declined to provide any names in front of the camera.
“Nope. It’s not like that in real life. Kisne PK badnaam hai pata sabko hai. (I prefer not to take the individual’s name.). Everyone is familiar with him. Those who know me intimately are aware of who I am. There has been a negative perception of me, he claimed.