NEWS
Follow UsAll-rounder Vijay Shankar believes he could be like Jacques Kallis or Shane Watson if given an opportunity to bat higher up the order. The 30-year-old said he hasn't got much chance to prove his mettle with the bat while playing for Tamil Nadu and Sunrisers Hyderabad and that is not allowing him to push his case for an India recall.
"Even if I get to bat at No. 5 right through, I’m okay with that. If I know that that is my batting slot, I will prepare accordingly in a different way. For Tamil Nadu and even in the IPL, if you see the batting positions that I have played in, it was all in different positions. Mostly after No. 6. I hardly have any overs to bat in most of the games. And it has come to a stage where I’ve become a 30-40 (runs) player. With that, I can’t push myself to play for the country," Vijay told Cricketnext.
"If I have to score runs, I need to spend more time on the crease. So I’m not saying I want to open the batting. Just saying, even if I bat at No. 4 or 5, let it be one slot at least for domestic. And then if I don’t score runs, drop me, I’m okay. That’s what I have missed out in the last two years.
"I’m an all-rounder, but I’m known for my batting. So just because I’m an all-rounder, it shouldn’t be like I should bat only at No. 6 or 7. I can also be someone like Jacques Kallis or Shane Watson. They open the innings or bat at No. 3 and bowl. It’s not a compulsion that an all-rounder has to bat at No. 6-7. If I can score runs at the top, and pick wickets, it’s good for the team too, right?"
Vijay featured in all seven games for SRH this season before it was suspended indefinitely. He only managed 58 runs in five innings at an average of 11.60 and a strike rate of 111.53, while with the ball in hand, Vijay took three wickets at an economy of more than nine. "As a player, I should be able to adapt myself. That is important in the current trend. I’m not denying it. But if I’m batting at No. 6 or 7 in the IPL, if I’m only going to bat in those positions, the preparation will be totally different," he said.
"If I’m batting at No. 3 or 4, the preparation will be totally different. When I played for Delhi Daredevils, I batted at No. 5 or 6 and had a good season because I kept batting there. This year, there was no choice, it was very difficult at Chepauk. Not just for me but for everyone. Only in one match did I have time – against Mumbai Indians. I tried to take the game deep and we lost that game. It wasn’t easy in Chepauk – every batsman struggled."
"The reason for batting order to become an issue now is because I have to score runs in domestic cricket. In the last one and half to two years, I’ve hardly got proper chances to bat. I need more runs. After that, in whatever position I bat, I can score runs. You need to basically bat long in domestic cricket. I was happy in the lead up to this IPL. I got a 95 in the practice game for SRH. But after that, I didn’t get enough time in the middle (in IPL). I was batting in the last 4 overs and there is little choice but to attack or slog."
Vijay faced a lot of trolling on social media, especially after that Ambati Rayudu's "3D" tweet, but it doesn't really bother the all-rounder. "Initially, it used to frustrate me. Because these days social media is an important factor. It’s a major thing. For no mistake of mine, I’ll be getting trolled, there will be a lot of things going on. If I had made some big mistake and they were trolling me, that’s different. But when I was trolled without reason, it would irritate me. Sometimes it was also amusing, I would wonder why they’re randomly trolling me.
"But at the end of the day, there would be no connection to me. All that is not in my hands. They gave me a tag randomly and made it viral. But after that tweet, I played three games for India (World Cup) and did decently. I didn’t do anything bad. A lot of people compare me to Rayudu, but the batting orders and conditions we play in are different. It’s okay to even compare, but at least see which slots we’re batting in. A lot of people don’t know that. They don’t see that, and they just want to enjoy in social media at my expense.
"We talk well when we meet. There’s no personal issue between us. It just so happened that his tweet became viral. I definitely don’t have any grudge against Rayudu. Even when I met him recently in Delhi, we had a super conversation."
Vijay has played 12 ODIs and nine T20Is but hasn't been able to make it back to the Indian side since the 2019 World Cup. "I’ve not spoken about it or asked anyone about selection. I’ve never asked why they don’t consider me again. I’ve never spoken like that even in Tamil Nadu cricket. My only thinking is that I have to be correct and work hard on my game. I’ve never felt the need to ask about selection.
"I don’t even know if I will get a proper answer even if I ask. Even if I get an answer, the only way I can come back is through performance. So only that is in my hands. What am I going to gain by asking about selection? Might as well focus on scoring runs and getting wickets.
"I’m very clear in my mind. I’m not in a double mind or don’t think about what will happen. I’m very clear about one thing – my ethics should be right. I should work in the right direction and work hard. From the time I started playing cricket to now, that has been my mantra. I’ll keep doing that, no matter what is happening outside."