Vijay Shankar Moves to Tripura: The 2019 ODI World Cup in England is remembered as one of the most exciting editions of the tournament. Fans witnessed some nail-biting games, and the final at Lord’s turned out to be a true thriller. England lifted their first-ever World Cup after edging past New Zealand on the boundary count rule, making history on their home soil.
“I Want to Play Cricket, Not Just Carry Water” – Vijay Shankar
For Team India, however, things didn’t go as planned. Virat Kohli’s men fell short in the semi-final against New Zealand, bringing their campaign to an end. The Indian squad itself had drawn a lot of attention before the tournament, especially when Vijay Shankar was picked ahead of Ambati Rayudu.
Vijay Shankar’s Struggles
Fast forward a few years, and Vijay Shankar’s career hasn’t quite taken off the way many expected. Struggling to cement his place in Indian cricket, the all-rounder has now decided to make a fresh start by leaving his home state of Tamil Nadu to play domestic cricket for Tripura.
Looking for New Opportunities
Opening up about his decision, Vijay Shankar admitted that he wasn’t happy with the opportunities he was getting in the Tamil Nadu setup.
“Sometimes, when you’re forced to take that call, you need to move on and look out for opportunities. I think I’ve been playing well. And more importantly, I want to play cricket, that’s it. I can’t go out there and just sit out and give water. It’s quite difficult after playing for so many years,” Vijay Shankar told The Hindu.
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The Frustration of Inconsistent Selections
He also shared how inconsistent selections made things difficult for him.
“Last year, I got dropped for the first two Ranji games, and then I made a comeback. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, again, I was dropped for the last two games. So, after that, it was quite tough. You need some clarity at some point. I was not getting that clarity,” Vijay Shankar added.
No Sense of Security in Tamil Nadu Setup
The 32-year-old further explained that he never really felt secure while representing Tamil Nadu, and that’s what ultimately pushed him to move on.
“I never got any secure feeling when it comes to the selectors. So, at one point, I decided I needed to take a call. And I was happy that at least our coach (M. Senthilnathan) came up and told what they (the selectors) were thinking. So, I felt that there was no point staying. And trying to still fight it out to play in this setup was quite difficult,” said Vijay Shankar.
A Lack of Stability in Batting Roles
Highlighting the lack of stability in his batting role, he recalled,
“Even if you take the last three years, I think only in 2022 I batted at one batting position, I batted at No. 6 every game, and I got three consecutive hundreds. But after that, from No. 3 to No. 7, I batted everywhere,” Vijay Shankar added.
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