Vijay Shankar Opens Up On The Competition With Hardik Pandya For The All-Rounder's Spot

Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar’s career so far has remained vastly unfulfilled despite showcasing glimpses of his class and ability. The fact that he has not played any monumental knock and raised his game on biggest stages such as the World Cup has gone against him. Yet, Vijay Shankar has claimed he wouldn’t pressurize himself by thinking about his competitors and opts to focus on his game to stake a claim for a place in the national side.

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The 29-year old secured a birth in India’s 2019 World Cup squad even after playing only ten ODIs. Even though an ankle injury disrupted his campaign midway, he hadn’t done anything signifcant in the opportunities he received. The injury to him and Hardik Pandya also paved the way for Shivam Dube, who was also inconsistent.

Meanwhile, Pandya, who is the first-choice all-rounder in white-ball cricket, is fit again and raring to go. A fit and firing Hardik Pandya can make it very challenging for Vijay Shankar to break into the line-up. But he doesn’t prefer focussing on his peers and instead wants to concentrate on his game that would keep him in the scheme of things.

The 29-year old went on to concede that if he performs well and there’s an existing opportunity, his name would be up for selection. Hence, it is futile for him to think about what other players are up to.

“If it starts affecting me (that Hardik is the No 1 choice) then I will lose out on games that I have with me. If I focus on the games that I have and have match-winning performances, then my name will be there in the circuit (reckoning). If I perform, people will talk about me and if some opportunity arises, I will be getting into the Indian side. So I can’t think about what other players are doing.” Vijay Shankar said as quoted by India Today.

“Had I converted even one start into a big knock, it would have been a different story” – Vijay Shankar

Having played less than ten ODIs before the World Cup in England, the Tamil Nadu-born all-rounder’s selection came as a surprise. However, he had received a few starts that were a testament to his capabilities. However, Vijay wasn’t able to convert any of those into anything notable, including his limited chances in the mega event. The 29-year old lamented those opportunities, admitting if he had translated even one to anything massive, it may have been a turning point. So far in 12 ODIs, he has 323 runs at 31.09 with a high score of 46.

“I missed out on two opportunities and one was against Afghanistan (he scored 29). Against West Indies, I got a good delivery. Before that I had successive 40 plus scores against New Zealand in a tough game and against Australia. Had I converted even one start into a big knock, it would have been a different story.” he added further.

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