Paul Valthaty was one of the umpteen talents which got recognised through the Indian Premier League. Valthaty, playing for Kings XI Punjab in 2011, lit the Mohali stadium with a stupendous unbeaten 120 to deflate the eventual champions of the season, Chennai Super Kings.

Valthaty spent almost a decade in the wilderness between 2002 and 2011. Rewind to 2002, Valthaty was representing India in the U-19 World Cup along the likes of Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan. In a game against Bangladesh, while batting on 5, he was struck under his right eye. It was a serious injury and kept Valthaty out of action for a while.

The only chance that came his way was four years later in 2006 when he debuted for Mumbai in a one-day game against Baroda. A 31-ball 16 batting at No. 6 meant that he won’t be playing again for Mumbai for a while.

“Those were some tough times. When you don’t know if you’ll play again or not is one of the scariest feelings. You can barely go to sleep when you have such doubts creep in. If it wasn’t for my family and their drive to keep me interested, I would’ve probably stopped (playing) then. But once I healed and got back to playing, I knew I could make it up the ladder again” said Valthaty in conversation with Wisden India.

The IPL arrived and Valthaty managed to bag a contract with Rajasthan Royals but two years with the franchise could result in just two games, both coming in 2009. The now 33-year-old sat the entire season of 2010 out. Abhishek Nayar was acquired by Kings XI Punjab in 2011, who then recommended Valthaty and then came his moment. Soon he was sent to open the innings with Australian great Adam Gilchrist and then came that magical 120*.

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