Advertisement

Updated May 21st, 2020 at 23:40 IST

Vijay Shankar on why Hardik Pandya being a first-choice all-rounder does not bother him

Vijay Shankar revealed why he is not bothered despite star all-rounder Hardik Pandya being a first-choice all-rounder for Team India.

Reported by: Karthik Nair
Vijay Shankar
| Image:self
Advertisement

Vijay Shankar has gone on to say that he is not intimidated by competing with Hardik Pandya and should he make his cricketing skills do the talking then he believes that he will be able to make it to the Indian team. Shankar has not played for India after his World Cup dream was cut short midway.

'If it starts affecting me': Vijay Shankar

During a recent interview with a news daily, the 29-year-old went on to say that if the thought of Hardik Pandya being Team India's first-choice all-rounder affects him, then he will lose out on games that he has with him. But, should he focus on the games that he has got and have match-winning performances, then his name will be there in the reckoning. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder also mentioned that the people will talk about him if he performs and if an opportunity arises, he will be getting into the Indian side. He then made it very clear that he cannot think about what other players are doing.

READ: Mohammad Kaif Says MS Dhoni Should Not Be Sidelined In A Hurry As There Is No Replacement

Meanwhile, the young cricketer also went on to say that things could have been different had he made the most of his opportunities during the showpiece event and in a couple of bilateral series before that as well by saying that during the World Cup 2019, he had missed out on a couple of opportunities against Afghanistan and the West Indies respectively. However, he also admitted that he was dismissed off a good delivery during the group game against the Windies. Furthermore, the Trichy player also added that before the quadrennial event, he had successive 40 plus scores against New Zealand in a tough game and against Australia, and had he converted even one start into a big knock, it would have been a different story.

Vijay Shankar was selected ahead of veteran Andhra batsman Ambati Rayudu in World Cup 2019 which has raised a lot of eyebrows back then and even Rayudu had taken a '3-D' jibe at the then chief-selector MSK Prasad and almost a couple of months later had also announced his shocking retirement as well. Shankar, on the other hand, made an impact for India during their group match against arch-rivals Pakistan where he had accounted for opener Imam-ul-Haq off the very first ball that he had bowled. India beat Pakistan by 89 runs (DLS Method) to register a 7-0 win over the neighbours in World Cups.

Sadly, Shankar went on to suffer a toe injury during a net session and could take no further part in the tournament. The Men In Blue had an outstanding World Cup where they had topped the league but an 18-run loss in the semi-final against New Zealand at Manchester brought curtains down on their campaign.

READ: Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni & Rahul Dravid's Old Pic Posted By ICC, Fans Get Nostalgic

Advertisement

Published May 21st, 2020 at 23:40 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Mukhtar Ansari Death
14 minutes ago
Chamkila
17 minutes ago
Lorry Crushes Car-Cleaner To Death In Telangana
22 minutes ago
Major League Cricket
22 minutes ago
Abhay Deol
23 minutes ago
delhi cm arvind kejriwal
25 minutes ago
MEA Responds To China’s Comment On Sikh Separatist Gurupatwant Singh Pannun
27 minutes ago
Riyan Parag
30 minutes ago
David Warner
31 minutes ago
Dhara Gujjar
39 minutes ago
UFC Exclusive Erin Blanchfield
an hour ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo