NewsClick

NewsClick
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Covid-19
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • International
  • Sports
  • Articles
  • Videos
search
menu

INTERACTIVE ELECTION MAPS

image/svg+xml
  • All Articles
  • Newsclick Articles
  • All Videos
  • Newsclick Videos
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • Sports
  • International
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Palestine
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • US
  • West Asia
About us
Subscribe
Follow us Facebook - Newsclick Twitter - Newsclick RSS - Newsclick
close menu
×
For latest updates on nCOVID-19 around the world visit our INTERACTIVE COVID MAP
sports
India
International

On the Ball | Rise of Vijay Shankar: Perseverance, Commitment and a Dose of Luck

Vijay Shankar, the wildcard in the Indian cricket squad for the ICC World Cup — touted to bat in the No. 4 spot that too — will be an important cog in the India machine. After years of dodgy luck but steely determination, the allrounder has finally got his spot in the limelight, writes R Kaushik in his weekly column On the Ball.
R Kaushik
20 Apr 2019
Indian cricket team's Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar averages 33 in nine ODIs for the Indian cricket team, with a highest of 46, and has just two wickets (Pic: Twitter, Vijay Shankar).

“Great kid, impeccable work ethic, terrific temperament, total commitment.”

This is the common refrain of coaches and teammates alike about Vijay Shankar, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder on whom the wheels of fortune have smiled benevolently since the start of 2019, and who has now been entrusted with the responsibility of occupying the No. 4 position in the Indian cricket team batting order at the ICC World Cup starting in 40 days’ time.

Vijay’s isn’t a story of dramatic, unexpected highs resulting in a fairytale breakthrough. Instead, it is the journey of a talented fighter who had to overcome perceptions, and debilitating injuries that loomed as deal-breakers. By using adversity as stepping stones to higher honours, he has shown that through will and skill, one can work their way up. Through his back-breaking climb up the ladder, he has also reiterated the value of adhering to core principles, and not compromising on the fundamental fabric that shaped him as a human being and a cricketer.

Now 28, Vijay falls back for advice, technical and mental, on the same person who has been his cricketing companion for 14 years now. S Balaji, the former Railways and Tamil Nadu batsman, started working with the Guru Nanak College student when Vijay was but 14. Over time, despite Vijay’s steady ascension up the ranks and his exposure to such erudite minds as Woorkeri Raman, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, Balaji remains his go-to man, the one who knows him inside out, who knows what makes him tick, what buttons to push.

Read More | Indian Cricket Selectors Hit Sweet Spot in Squad for ICC World Cup

Balaji’s insistence on a mastery of the basics, Vijay will agree, has played a big part in the culmination of his travels as India’s No. 4 in one-day cricket. He may not attract as many eyeballs as the flamboyant ball-strikers, but it’s his ability to play the conditions and situations that give him the edge over many of his equally skilled contemporaries. A case in point — a classy 45-ball 64 in his first hit in One-Day Internationals, against New Zealand in Wellington, when he walked in at 18 for four with the ball whooping around corners, and helped Ambati Rayudu steady the rocking boat.

Vijay had to bide his time before he got the chance to establish himself in the Tamil Nadu state side. The presence of a host of big names meant he wasn’t always guaranteed his place, a place he earned by making the uncommon switch from off-spin to medium-pace to present his credentials as an all-rounder.

In the early 2010s, Tamil Nadu had two quality off-spinners, and a decent pace attack, but they didn’t have a batsman who could bowl medium-pace. Balaji seized on that opening; a pliant Vijay put in the extra hours in transforming himself from a decent offie to a useful seam-up option, a switch that subsequently had career-defining ramifications.

Read More | Indian Basketball Deserves a Pro League, Built Around a Systematic Grassroots Programme

Even armed with a third string to his bow — he was always an electric fielder — Vijay’s frustrating wait endured until, in the 2014-15 season, he came of age after being assigned a settled position at No. 5 in the batting order by coach Raman, the former India opener. Now the India Women head coach, Raman instilled in him the desire to aim for the Indian team instead of merely trying to nail down a permanent place in the Tamil Nadu XI.

He showcased his versatility while batting at No. 3 in a couple of games in the Ranji league phase, but it was in the knockouts where he truly stood out. He made 111 and 82 in the quarterfinal against Vidarbha, 91 in the semifinal against Maharashtra and 5 and 103 in the final in a losing cause against Karnataka, catching the attention of the national selectors and setting himself up as one for the future.

Just as things were starting to look up and he was named in the ‘A’ side for the tour of Australia in August 2016, an untimely knee injury opened the door for Hardik Pandya to step in and grab his chances. Vijay needed surgery to repair a meniscus tear, a process that kept him out of the game for three and a half months. He didn’t lose heart, going back to the drawing board once he went through the rehabilitation process, and feeding off the expertise, wisdom and infectious positivity of Dravid, the India ‘A’ coach.

His tryst with misfortune continued, however, and a hamstring tendon injury sustained while playing for India ‘A’ against Windies ‘A’ in England last July tested the patience of the decision-makers. But with stubborn obduracy, Vijay worked his way back into fitness and favour, striking the decisive blow for himself after being elevated to the No. 5 position in the one-day games against New Zealand ‘A’ towards the end of last year.

Read More | On The Ball - Cricket’s Big Technology Problem

At that point, Vijay was hardly on the selectors’ radar when it came to the senior side. But as Dravid pushed him up to No. 5, Vijay responded with scores of 87, 59 and 42 in front of reinstated selector Jatin Paranjape to establish himself as the obvious replacement when Pandya was recalled from the Antipodes following his crass remarks on the talk show Koffee With Karan. It was as if, having dealt him an unfair hand all along, destiny decided to place its benevolent hand on Vijay’s head. What he makes of this unexpected, if merited, lifeline is entirely up to him.

Vijay’s numbers aren’t exactly the sort to trigger disbelieving eye-blinks. He averages 33 in nine ODIs, with a highest of 46, and has just two wickets. He doesn’t bowl as many overs as he perhaps should, either for the country or at Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he has been reunited with mentor Laxman. Vijay’s role for India, it is clear, is as a top-order batsman who Virat Kohli can turn to for a few overs in a crisis; the lesser he bowls at the international level, the greater the chances that the frontline bowlers are doing their job well.

The Russian Roulette that the India No. 4 position became in the 16 months leading up to the World Cup has panned out nicely in Vijay’s favour. No batsman was allowed the opportunity to either totally play himself in or out, thus leading to a salty situation when the incumbent at the 50-over extravaganza has never batted at that position!

The consensus is that Vijay has what it takes to succeed at that number, but these are untested waters, uncharted territory. How he shapes up as an out-and-out batsman, without the comforting safety net of the all-rounder’s tag dangling reassuringly below him, will definitely influence how deep India go in their quest for a third World Cup crown.

(Kaushik is a veteran cricket writer who has reported on over 100 Tests. He co-authored VVS Laxman's autobiography '281 and Beyond')

Read more sports stories from Newsclick

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
Vijay Shankar
Indian cricket team
ICC Cricket World Cup
Virat Kohli
Hardik Pandya
Tamil Nadu cricket team
Ranji Trophy
India A Cricket Team
Railways Cricket
Rahul Dravid
VVS Laxman
Woorkeri Raman
S Balaji
Indian cricket team World Cup
2019 ICC World Cup
Cricket World Cup
World Cup cricket
India at World Cup cricket
On the Ball
Cricket
Indian cricket
Related Stories
Virat Kohli during India vs England first Test

The Boys Played Well on Twitter; In Chennai, Not So Much

Virat Kohli on farmers' protest

Cut, Copy, Waste: Indian Sports’s Social Media Has Been Co-Opted To Serve A Nationalist Agenda

australia vs india bio bubble controversy

Let's Talk: Notes on and from Bio-Bubbles

Sourav Ganguly heat attack

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly Suffers Heart Attack, Undergoes Angioplasty

VK

Why is Paternity Leave a Low Priority in Cricket?

Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes

Full Fledged England Tour of India Early Next year, Says Sourav Ganguly; No Plans Yet for Women and Domestic Cricket

Indian cricket team's Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Australia vs India: Virat Kohli to Go on Paternity Leave After 1st Test; Rohit Sharma in Squad

Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj, the skippers of the three teams in the IPL Women's T20 Challenge

Desert Mirage: Indian Women Cricketers’ Four-Day Long 2020 Season Begins in UAE

BCCI apex council meeting

BCCI to Discuss Domestic Season and Home Series Against England In October 17 Meeting

Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi of the KKR

Boys Interrupted: Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and the Tough Road to the Top

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share

Related Stories

Leslie Xavier

Virat Kohli's Binary World View a Real Test for Cricket

03 March 2021
Virat Kohli is, possibly, the most complete batsman of his generation.
Leslie Xavier

The Name Game: Concrete Advertising or Advertising Via Concrete?

28 February 2021
The ancients, perhaps, knew better than us. They knew that the world moves forward faster than we think.
Jaydeep Basu

Wasim Jaffer’s Treatment Marks a Frightening New Communalisation of the Cricket Field

13 February 2021
The Indian cricket team’s tour of the West Indies in 1971 will be remembered for multiple reasons; the second T

Pagination

  • Next page ››

More

  • Kerala Elections 2021: After 14 Elections, Women Still Under-represented in State Assembly

    Kerala Elections 2021: After 14 Elections, Women Still Under-represented in State Assembly

  • Singareni Coal Workers Start Indefinite Dharna Against Commercial Mining

    Singareni Coal Workers Start Indefinite Dharna Against Commercial Mining

  • Sugarcane Farmers.

    Farmers in Western UP Hold Protest Against Irregularities in Weighing of Sugarcane

  • Haryana: Ahead of No-Trust Vote, Farmer Leaders Pin Hopes on ‘Good Conscience’ of MLAs

    Haryana: Ahead of No-Trust Vote, Farmer Leaders Pin Hopes on ‘Good Conscience’ of MLAs

  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with
about