Vijay Shankar Was The Big Hope For India Once, On His Birthday, A Look At His Career So Far

Vijay Shankar first emerged on the radar of the national selectors after his great performance in the India A tour of New Zealand in late 2018. Team India have been hunting for a genuine all-rounder in ODIs for many decades. Therefore, when the national selectors saw potential in Vijay Shankar after that India A tour, he was immediately drafted into the senior side.

The lanky all-rounder made his India debut in the Melbourne ODI of the India-Australia series in January 2019. Although Vijay did not get to bat in his debut match, he showcased his bowling capabilities by bowling economically.

Vijay Shankar shone with the bat in his next ODI outing in New Zealand when he played a valuable knock of 45 runs against the likes of Trent Boult, Matt Henry and James Neesham. Vijay was eventually included in the Indian squad for the ICC ODI World Cup 2019. He was famously chosen over Ambati Rayudu. At the time, it seemed that Team India had finally found their next all-rounder.

The Tamil Nadu all-rounder even showed his class when he scored 15 crucial runs and took two wickets in the high-voltage World Cup match between India and Pakistan. However, he couldn’t do much with either the bat or the ball in the next two games. Vijay Shankar was then ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a toe injury in the nets on the eve of the match against Afghanistan.

Vijay Shankar hasn’t played for India since his doomed World Cup campaign and is plying his trade in the domestic circuit. A string of average IPL seasons saw him dumped by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was picked by Gujarat Titans in the mega auction in 2022. It will be interesting to see how Vijay Shankar performs for the defending champions in the upcoming season of the IPL.

The allrounder recently revived his domestic career by slamming a memorable hundred in Tamil Nadu’s match against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. His sixth first-class century against the highly-vaunted Mumbai ensured that Tamil Nadu were able to draw the fourth-round fixture. Although his critics have ruled him out, Vijay is still optimistic about his cricketing career. He may be forgotten but he still has the hunger to succeed at the highest levels.

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