Vijaykumar Vyshak has made a solid start in IPL 2026 and the Kings XI Punjab pacer said that he is working on improving his pace and adding more variations to remain efficient in the game.
Vishak has taken five wickets in two games so far, which is already an improvement over the four wickets he took in five games last season. He started his IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2023 and later moved to Kings XI Punjab.
The 29-year-old has used wide yorkers and slower bouncers this season. In the last match against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai, he dismissed Ayush Maitre and Sarfaraz Khan to help the opponents restrict themselves to 209 runs in five overs, chased by Kings XI Punjab.
Kings XI Punjab have used him in all phases of the game and Vishak said he is happy to play the role. Since the team relies heavily on video analytics, he believes regular improvements are necessary.
“I don’t bowl as fast as people do now. People bowl 154, 155. I am a guy who can bowl 140, 143, 144. But, for me, I think I like challenges. So it doesn’t matter where I bowl,” news agency PTI quoted Vyshak as saying.
“Whether I bowl three overs in the powerplay or four in the death overs, it doesn’t matter. As long as I contribute to the team,” he said during a media interaction before the match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Vishak, who is available for various matches, received his first call-up from India for the 2024 T20 tour of South Africa but did not feature in the match. He said playing Test cricket remains his main goal and also hopes to represent India in T20 matches.
“When you start playing cricket, you always want to play Test matches for India. I think it still gives me chills when I think about playing Test matches for my country wearing an India cap. But I think now the format we are playing in, yes, I want to do well in that,” he said.
He also said that he drew inspiration from Kings XI Punjab teammate Arshdeep Singh.
During the off-season, Vishak was in Karnataka preparing for the IPL with his coaches and teammates.
“You can’t compete on such a big stage without working. I seriously think that whatever you’ve been practicing, whatever you’ve been doing right, I think that reflects on your game as well.
“Thankfully, I have some good coaches back home as well. I took some inspiration from my seniors in Karnataka and they performed really well.
“Even in the domestic season, I think I was the leading bowler. So I wanted to take charge and I wanted to do well for the team. We didn’t qualify but I gained a lot of confidence there and I did what I was supposed to do. Domestic cricket is something where you can actually gain confidence because you know how good Indian cricket is.”
On adding more tricks to his bowling, he said:
“Changes, yes of course, whenever you come to a new season you have to be ready. Every team has a video analyst. You have to keep getting better and better. So I always make sure that whenever I come, I bring new deliveries for myself.
“So, yeah, that’s what I’ve been trying to do. Yeah, of course, I’ve been trying to get better and better, some slower moves, or more variety. So hopefully I can, maybe I can do that this season,” he added.
Vishak also said that the introduction of the impact player rule in 2023 has helped players like him get opportunities despite concerns from some players like Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya.
