"I don't have any regrets" - Paul Valthaty on his cricketing career

Paul Valthaty was one of those players who achieved great success through the IPL but could not quite capitalize on his chances. Valthaty made headlines in the 2011 season of the IPL, scoring 463 runs in 14 games at an impressive strike-rate of 136.98.

Valthaty's best innings came in the game against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings where he scored a brilliant 120 runs in just 63 balls, helping Kings XI Punjab chase down a mammoth target of 189. This innings really propelled him into the limelight.

Paul Valthaty was subsequently selected for India Blue in the Challenger Trophy. It seemed written in the stars that he would eventually get an India call-up. Valthaty recently recalled his memories from that game against CSK.

"At the beginning of the match because Kings XI Punjab was not known to be that strong a team that edition, we lost our first match very cheaply-the crowd was In Fact cheering for Chennai Super Kings. Obviously Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the great Indian captain was there and we had just won the World Cup. So the crowd was actually cheering against us. But then gradually they realized, “Our home team is winning,” Paul Valthaty said in a Youtube Video.

“I was one of the, probably very few uncapped players who was recognized in such magnitude, at such a big stage. So, that was a great feeling. After that, I got quite a few opportunities. I was picked for the Indian Blue in the Challenger Trophy. I did well in that match as well. You get recognized whenever you go out. People come for autographs and photographs. It felt good. This kind of recognition every sportsman or an artist wants,” Paul Valthaty further added.

Paul Valthaty on what went wrong after IPL 2011

Paul Valthaty did everything right to achieve that call-up to the India Blue team in the Challenger Trophy. But everything was about to go downhill from there for him. A wrist injury lead to him performing inconsistently and he was never the same again.

Eventually, Valthaty went unsold in the IPL 2014 auction and it was the end of the road for him as far as a chance to play for India was concerned. However, he has no regrets about it as he understands that cricket is a professional sport and injuries are part and parcel of the game.

“That’s how ruthless professional sport is. You can’t blame anyone. If you’re found to be lacking or if you’re found to be not performing, there are no emotions. So, I don’t have any regrets. I tried for a comeback in 2014 and 15 but the door was completely shut probably and I couldn’t sneak in. I didn’t get that opportunity to make a comeback,” Paul Valthaty said.

Pau Valthaty now plays for Air India, Cricket Club of India, and mentors budding players and works with the Homeground Cricket Academy.