Vijay Shankar confident of good show in Vijay Hazare Trophy

And in this vast expanse of learning and striving to get better at his trade, Vijay Shankar has aced many a test with flying colours. 

From earning a maiden call-up to the Test squad in November to being bought for Rs. 3.2 crore by Delhi Daredevils in the IPL auction recently, Vijay Shankar’s rewarding journey up the ladder of merit continues to gather steam. 

Fresh from leading Vijay CC to triumph in the VA Parthasarathy Memorial Trophy on Wednesday, the 27-year-old is saddled with the task of leading TN in the Vijay Hazare trophy beginning Monday. 

TN enters the tournament with the tag of defending champion and this has been one season where the welloiled TN unit couldn’t stop running into rough weather. However, the season of failure only strengthens his resolve to stop the rut before it snowballs into a major crisis and he is willing to embrace this challenge like any other he has confronted so far. 

Tamil Nadu has been grouped with Mumbai, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra, Goa and Rajasthan. The top two teams qualify for the knockout stages. Vijay Shankar quashed any talk of there being added pressure with the squad containing Murali Vijay and R Ashwin. 

“It doesn’t add any extra burden. On the contrary, it helps having them. They have both been playing at the highest level for a long time now and you can’t buy that experience. Their presence alone will be a big motivating factor. They both have a calming influence on our young side,” said Vijay Shankar, whose team faces Gujarat in its first match. 

Replying to his team’s lacklustre show in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, where TN managed to win only a single game in the Super League, Vijay Shankar chose not to offer any excuses for their plans going pear-shaped. 

“It was disappointing to lose but we analysed where we went wrong and as players we have to take collective responsibility and look to improve every day.” Asked if he had any strategy in place for the latest batting sensation and the India U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw, Vijay Shankar said it would be remiss of his team to lose sight of the other 10 Mumbai players and instead focus all their energies only on one batsman. 

“Mumbai has Prithvi Shaw but it has several other good players as well. And we don’t attach any extra significance to our game against Mumbai. 

We treat all our opponents the same and will not take anyone lightly. Regardless of who our opponent is, we always look to give our best.” Unlike what most people would have thought, Vijay Shankar had his feet firmly rooted to the ground and wasn’t floating on air when he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs. 3.2 crore. 

“It took some time to sink in. I wasn’t expecting that I would be bought for such a high amount. Even if I had been bought for my base price of Rs. 40 lakh, I would have been satisfied in the knowledge that I had a chance to play in the IPL,” remarked the all-rounder. On his thoughts of playing for a new franchisee, Shankar opined that the capital outfit looks the strongest. 

“Delhi has all its bases covered and looks formidable. Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad helped me enormously in evolving as a player. I’m looking forward to playing under Ricky Ponting who is the coach. We all know he was a legendary cricketer and someone who was multifaceted. 

He excelled as a batsman, was a brilliant fielder and an outstanding captain. I’m sure this stint will be productive,” added Vijay Shankar. 

With Delhi procuring him, it has opened new vistas for Vijay Shankar to embark on another promising journey which he hopes would take him ever so closer to becoming a finished product.