Murali Vijay Reveals The Bizarre Reason Which Once Barred Him From Playing For Tamil Nadu

Murali Vijay might be one of the most sought after cricketers in the world at the moment but the journey to the top was as tough as one could think of. At just 17, he had walked out of his home after flunking his Class XII exams.

He had started to play with the leather ball only at the age of 17. Life, however, was only going to get tougher in the coming days. He could not make it to the under-19 state team and so turned to college cricket. It was then that Bharat Arun, currently Indian team’s bowling coach, spotted him and asked him to play for Chemplast team in Chennai’s club cricket league. Vijay rose up the ranks but there was no end to heartbreaks.

At the age of 21, he found out that he wasn’t selected for the Tamil Nadu team because he had long hair. The India opener revealed the bizarre incident in Harbhajan Singh’s chat show Bhajji Blast.

A couple of years too, Vijay had opened up on that incident.

“That’s what my sources told me and I was shocked. It’s a weird feeling: I didn’t understand. What’s hair got to do with cricket? What does it really say? How can you judge my attitude on that? If I do not support my teammates, or come late for training or make mistakes on the field, these things can be addressed. Not your hair or the way you speak, or smoke,” he had told in an interview in 2015.

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Well, Vijay has come a long way now. He is an indispensable part of the Test team at the moment. He recently scored his 12th Test ton during the one-off Test against Afghanistan. The right-hander will be next seen in action during the England tour where India will play five Tests.

Murali Vijay Reveals The Bizarre Reason Which Once Barred Him From Playing For Tamil Nadu
Credits: BCCI

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