Rising above injuries and making a name for himself - the Vijay Shankar way

There is a reason Vijay Shankar finds solace in Rahul Dravid’s presence in the India A camp. Like Dravid, he doesn’t want to talk too much or doesn’t want the outside flashiness to get the better of him. When I had first met him for an interaction during 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy in Cuttack, it didn’t take me long to realize how focused he was and exactly a year later, when I called him up after his India selection, there was a sense of calm in each word he spoke. 

Vijay started as an off-spinner but had an obvious problem, to begin with. Despite his ability with the bat, he didn’t get the opportunity in the Tamil Nadu setup due to the presence of spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Malolan Rangarajan, Baba Aparajith, Aushik Srinivas, and Rahil Shah. Then came H Balaji, his personal coach, who advised him to start bowling medium pace because there weren’t too many medium-pace bowling all-rounders on the Tamil Nadu cricketing circuit. It was indeed a tough decision to make so late in his career, but he didn't hesitate and as things stand at the moment, it has become the most important decision that he has ever made in his life. 

Making his Ranji Trophy debut in 2012-13, Vijay showed glimpses of his ability and got a 63 not out on his debut, but played only two more games that season, which affected his mentality. But like every successful narrative, a crest came soon enough, precisely after two years. He managed to score 577 runs in seven matches in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, scoring two hundred and three fifties and also picked up eight wickets. Vijay was living a dream then and was named as the Tamil Nadu Cricketer of the Year 2014-15 and he feels that was a landmark year in his cricketing journey.

“The game against Mumbai turned my career around. The game could have gone either way. I got 95 in that game on a turner and the good thing was that I did well in the knock-outs. When you are pushed to a corner, you need some good performance to stay in the contention. And after that season I got into the India A side,” Vijay said in almost a single breath. 

While that was the initiation of something big for the Chennai boy, Vijay made a statement by scoring runs in each of those developmental series. However, the most important innings came in the fourth innings of the first unofficial Test against South Africa A in Wayanad and his unbeaten 74 in a partnership with Karun Nair, who ended with 114 not out, salvaged the game for India. 

“My favourite Dravid moment was the first time I had the opportunity to talk to him about my cricket. He came to Chennai to play the final of the Chennai First Division League. That was a very exciting thing for me. In A tours, when I do well, he would always come up and pat on my back. 

“In the tri-series final in South Africa last year, I scored a 70 (72 to be precise) and had a good partnership with Shreyas (Iyer) to lead India to win. I batted in the top order cause Pandey had a niggle. Dravid sir came to me and said well done. See, these small things sometimes matter a lot. He is an inspiration to me.”

“No. Not really. I generally don’t want to disturb him. Whenever I am with him during the India A matches and all, I ask for advice regarding my batting and matches and how that can be better. When I am not with the India A team or with him, I don’t disturb him much actually.”

Ask anyone who has followed Tamil Nadu cricket for while and they will attest to Vijay’s commitment and strive to win. He is a workhorse who has an amazing zeal. Every time he steps onto the field, he never disappoints – both with the bat and the ball.  

"While his intent to push himself to the extreme is fine, he needs to develop his bowling a bit. He needs to add pace to his arsenal to be considered as a proper all-rounder. He can make it into any team with the power of his batting display. But he has that ability to bowl and I want him to be a more consistent bowler. However, one thing that attracts attention is his leadership capability. He always sets the bar and everyone follows it. He never wants to sit idle and always wants to do something on the field." 

The most difficult part of any professional sportsperson’s lives is to tackle the innumerable injuries that they face in their career. More so, if the injuries happen at a time when you are in the running for a national call-up, it is a double whammy. A successful A tour of Australia in 2016 would have guaranteed him a maiden India call-up, but he was ruled out of the tour with a meniscus tear and a grade-four patella injury to his knee and had to undergo a surgery instantly, which made way for Hardik Pandya’s inclusion in the A-side. While Pandya used the opportunity to get a maiden ODI call-up in the home series against New Zealand, Vijay had no other way than shedding a tear or two for not being able to travel Down Under with the team. 

“But when I spoke to my parents, Rahul Sir and my coach, everyone advised me to get the surgery done first and then make a comeback to the side. I was literally watching all the matches and couldn’t play. That few months were the most difficult time for me. But I was able to get mentally stronger during that time. In hindsight, I can say that was the most positive thing for me.”

He has never looked back since then. After getting back to full fitness, Vijay made an instant impact for Tamil Nadu and managed to score 312 runs from seven innings at an average of 52 and selectors took notice. He was picked up for the next India A squad that locked horns with Bangladesh in the warm-up match, and he caught the eye of the selectors with an unbeaten 103 off 81 balls. 

“You need someone to motivate you all the time. I remember I was training with Mr Rajini, who was India A trainer at that time. I was training with him at the NCA for two months and he was helping me out with everything. Obviously, on weekends, I used to go home to meet my parents. But truth be told, you would always get negative thoughts and at some point, you would doubt yourself as well. But thanks to the support system around me that I had, I actually came back stronger and became mentally tougher as well.”

All the hard-work culminated with his Test call-up as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the home Test series against Sri Lanka, which he described as a great learning curve. Although he didn’t get a match as India opted for Pandya over him, Vijay was definitely not worried by that. All he did was savour the experience.  

“I remember the match in Delhi against Sri Lanka when Vijay (Murali Vijay) and Virat got a big partnership. The most important thing about that partnership was that they didn’t play a single rash shot and still comfortably scored 4-5 runs in each over, which is actually a very difficult thing in days cricket. You need a high level of skill to be like that. As a batsman, I always have the urge to hit every ball, but watching that partnership was a lesson for me. They are very much consistent and that’s why they are special.”

However, if the present team selection for Nidahas Trophy tri-nation series was anything to go by, Vijay is the only pace-bowling all-rounder in the team and chances of making his international debut this time are high. He would finally don that blue jersey which had evaded him for long and who knows, it would be the first stepping stone to something bigger and grander. But Vijay, being Vijay, doesn’t think much of it now.

Hard-work and perseverance seldom go unrewarded, but there are far too many cricketers in India that have fallen into oblivion while trying to overcome the obstacles and the fear of failure. But Vijay Shankar has already taken that complexity away from him and has set the stage for much bigger and grander things to come. It is just a matter of time now.

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