I would also like to thank the IPL and both my teams Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings who I was fortunate enough to represent and become the first player from Mumbai and the fourth Indian to score a century in the IPL, Valtati wrote in his letter to the MCA.
Valtati had a great debut season for Punjab in the IPL, but his IPL career ended in 2013 as IPL teams preferred younger players in the squad. The 39-year-old now wants to contribute to the development of the game and guide young aspiring cricketers.
In 2011, when Valtati made his hundred in the IPL, not many people knew about his partial loss of vision, which he suffered during the 2002 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. The Bangladeshi bowler’s short delivery off a new ball on an awkward pitch hit Paul in the eye. He returned home with a bandaged eye.
The ball suddenly bounced and hit me right in the eye, Paul told this newspaper after the IPL match in which he made a hundred runs. It took me at least a few years to adapt and get back to my best game.
Paul then turned to Nari Contractor, who had suffered a similar injury after being hit on the head by a ball during a tour to the West Indies in 1962. After receiving encouraging words and advice from Contractor, Valtati recovered.