Vijay Shankar vividly remembers that one afternoon in Bengaluru a number of months in the past.
He was on the National Cricket Academy, present process a rehabilitation programme, when VVS Laxman walked as much as him for an extended heart-to-heart chat.
Being the top of the NCA, it was Laxman’s responsibility to observe the health ranges of every cricketer on the academy. Having identified Vijay for fairly some time, Laxman mentioned: “You are so good, but there’s something missing. You need to sit back and find out what you are missing out on.”
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder was left looking for a solution again then. Over the subsequent few days, Vijay got here to grasp Laxman had been spot on. Something, certainly, was lacking in his strategy. “My strength has always been to push it forward even when things are tough. But I realised that I was somehow missing that hunger and was just going with the flow,” Vijay tells Sportstar.
Those have been difficult occasions for him. After present process a shoulder harm quickly after the Indian Premier League received over, Vijay needed to be out of motion for about seven months, and he would discover it tough to deal with issues occurring round him.
“After surgery, it was tough for me to watch people play cricket. It was even difficult to just follow the scores. For a cricketer, that’s the most difficult part because you keep a tab on all the scores – including the first division league,” Vijay recollects.
While most of his teammates and shut pals have been busy that includes in numerous tournaments, Vijay’s motion was restricted inside the home. He would typically really feel low, lonely and would have emotional outbursts, however with the help of his household, he may finally overcome the percentages.
“With the support of my family, I could overcome that phase. I have a one-year-old baby now… Everything put together, I could do it,” he says.
“I believe at times, the long breaks bring out the best in you. It makes you stronger… Family has always been around me and they have been my only support system. You need to fight a lot of things here, and even a few months ago, there were lots of questions on whether I would be playing Ranji Trophy and all that. So for me to come back and be where I am now, I feel happy and proud for the way I could utilise the rehab time,” Vijay says, including: “My trainer and physio at the National Cricket Academy had a major impact. Without their efforts, I would not have been ready so early.”
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It has taken seven months for Vijay to return to motion and even earlier than the Ranji Trophy began, he wasn’t positive how the season would pan out. Before the sport in opposition to Mumbai, Vijay scored 26 and a couple of in opposition to Andhra, and adopted it up with a 52 in opposition to Delhi. But a giant rating was nonetheless far-off.
Vijay, who would flip 32 on January 26 this 12 months, saved believing in himself, centered on the method and stood up when it mattered essentially the most.
At the Brabourne Stadium on Friday, Vijay scored his first century of the season and his 103, together with Pradosh Ranjan Paul’s 169 propelled Tamil Nadu to 548 within the second innings and set a 212-run goal for Mumbai.
The match finally led to a draw, however for Vijay, it was a particular second to attain his sixth first-class hundred. “To get a hundred here in Mumbai and in a situation where we needed to save the game, was really a good thing. I got a hundred after a very long time. I have been getting 50s, but was missing out on a century,” he says.
“First five hundreds I got pretty early in my early days in first-class cricket, but after that, I was just getting just 50s. I don’t know why. Maybe, after this hundred, I will get a lot more.”
Vijay says he’s proud of the best way he batted on the ultimate day of the sport, and even within the first innings the place Tamil Nadu folded for 144. “In the first innings, I got out but those 20 odd runs that I scored, I enjoyed that. I was timing it well, so I just felt that I could bat like the old times.”
There was a heart-stopping second within the second innings. Vijay, when batting on 61, was dropped by Mohit Avasthi at third man off a Siddharth Raut supply. Vijay admits ‘it was a poor shot’ at that juncture of the sport.
“It was poor awareness from my side. When you are playing in such situations, you need to put your team first. The bounce was pretty variable. I knew that, but even then, to play such a shot and give a chance at that situation was not right,” he says.
“Being a senior player, who has played enough, I should not have done that. I realised I had to take up the responsibility and it was a matter of staying there for another five-ten overs and things would not have gone to the mandatory overs. We would have called it off much earlier. It’s basic cricketing thinking.”
So far within the match, Tamil Nadu has didn’t register an outright win, and the subsequent match in opposition to Maharashtra, starting in Pune on January 10, is essential. “We have played really well so far and all games have gone till the mandatory overs. So, we played some really good cricket, we did things correctly, but it’s just that, we have not been able to get that final thing. Maybe, in the next three games, we can do it and you never know, we might qualify and do well as a team…” Vijay says.
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As Vijay speaks about dealing with the tough occasions, he makes it clear that dealing with social media shouldn’t be simple.
Having been trolled, typically unfairly, on social media, Vijay understands it’s a problem to take issues in a single’s stride and transfer on.
He remembers these days in 2019 when Ambati Rayudu’s ‘3D’ tweet had gone viral submit his snub from India’s squad for the World Cup. In his tweet, Rayudu had lashed out at former chief selector MSK Prasad over his feedback on all-rounder Vijay Shankar, who was picked forward of him within the World Cup squad.
Back then, Rayudu was India’s first-choice batter at No. 4, however in a shocking determination, the selectors picked Vijay within the squad as a result of Prasad, the chairman of the committee, felt that the Tamil Nadu all-rounder was a ‘3D’ participant.
Vijay began with an unbeaten 15 in opposition to Pakistan and likewise picked up a wicket in his first ball. But it went downhill since, as he contributed 29 and 14 in opposition to Afghanistan and West Indies respectively, earlier than a toe harm dominated him out of the match.
He hasn’t been capable of return to the Indian crew since.
But each time he seems to be again at these occasions, the ‘3D’ jibe and fixed trolling on social media proceed to hang-out him. “It was very difficult initially. It is very easy to say that you should just ignore those noises, but it is not possible. With social media around, you tend to read everything, it goes into your mind. Those days, I must say, made me stronger,” he says.
“I have seen things happening to MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and all the top players… people don’t even spare them. People appreciate them when things are going fine, but come hard at them in tough times. People who go through it know how difficult it is. I started thinking about what best I could do and not think about other stuff,” he says.
While Vijay had no management over the memes, he backed himself continually and believed in his work ethics. He continues to observe the identical. “Every time I go to a practice session, I make sure that I am 100 per cent fit. I am not getting to bowl much now, but even then, if you see me at the practice, you can find that I keep working on my bowling as well because you never know when there will be a need,” he says.
“For all you know I might just have to bowl and get a five-for against Maharashtra to guide the team to victory, so I want to be ready to bowl longer spells. My work ethic brought me so far, and I will keep working on that. End results don’t matter.”
Unlike a lot of his pals, Vijay doesn’t imagine in new 12 months resolutions. He simply desires to focus and contribute to the crew’s success. The century in opposition to Mumbai has boosted his confidence and he hopes that this results in many extra milestones.
That’s how Vijay desires 2023 to be – memorable and stuffed with joyful moments!