Where is Paul Valthaty now? KXIP's IPL 2011 centurion disappears after glorious season

Mumbai-based cricketer Paul Valthaty represented Kings XI Punjab between 2011 and 2013 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In his maiden campaign for Kings XI Punjab itself, the attacking right-handed batsman scored 463 runs and formed a destructive opening partnership with legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist throughout the season. However, his career was vastly impacted by injuries in the subsequent IPL editions that prompted him to get rejected by the team management. Here is a look at some insights regarding where is Paul Valthaty now and an overall roundup of his cricketing career.

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Where is Paul Valthaty now? What has the cricketer been upto?

To answer the 'Where is Paul Valthaty now?' query, it is important to know the happenings in his life besides his IPL career. Paul Valthaty first burst onto the cricketing scene in age-group level for Mumbai in the late 1990s. He later made his way into the Indian Under-19 World Cup team of 2002 alongside the likes of future stars Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel. Some powerful performances for Mumbai in T20 cricket during the late 2000s landed him an IPL contract for Kings XI Punjab in 2011.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times in 2018, Paul Valthaty said that his career was marred by injuries and whenever he was set for “big things”, such unfortunate instances hampered his progress. He revealed that after the 2011 IPL season, he developed a ganglion (lump in the wrist) which enabled him to stay out of the game for a while. According to Paul Valthaty, the pain from the injury was so severe that he was not even able to pick up his bat.

However, the cricketer holds no regrets over his shortened career and is satisfied because there are aspiring kids who approach him for guidance. Paul Valthaty is currently an Air India employee who frequently plays club cricket as one of their prolific run-scorers in T20 Mumbai League. Apart from representing his employers, the 36-year-old also coaches aspiring cricketers at Mumbai’s Homeground Cricket Academy. Paul Valthaty further revealed in the interview that he is still not with the game yet and is currently applying to play Ranji Trophy for one of the new teams inducted by the BCCI.

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Where is Paul Valthaty now? Paul Valthaty career stats

Paul Valthaty scored 463 runs in IPL 2011 to emerge as one of Kings XI Punjab’s highest run-scorers that season. He scored his runs at a strike-rate of 136.98 with a century and two fifties. His unbeaten knock of 120 off just 63 balls against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is widely regarded as one of the best innings played by any Kings XI Punjab batsmen in tournament’s history.

In the subsequent seasons, he collectively played only 7 additional matches to round up his IPL career with 23 matches to score 505 runs at 22.95. He has also played 5 first-class and 4 List A matches for Mumbai and Himachal Pradesh.

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Image credit: IPLT20.COM