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Vijay Shankar leaves Tamil Nadu for Tripura after frustration with selectors and lack of clarity, despite strong performances and experience, aiming for more playing opportunities.
Vijay Shankar set to leave Tamil Nadu and join Tripura
All-rounder Vijay Shankar has opened up on parting ways with Tamil Nadu ahead of the upcoming domestic season. The 34-year-old is set to join Tripura and has received the required No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).
Speaking to The Hindu, Shankar said it was getting frustrating for him to warm the bench and repeatedly get sidelined by the selectors despite consistent performances.
“Sometimes, when you’re forced to take that call, you need to move on and look out for opportunities. I think I’ve been playing well. And more importantly, I want to play cricket, that’s it. I can’t just sit there and give water. It’s quite difficult after playing for so many years,” Shankar told The Hindu.
Shankar further revealed that the constant lack of clarity from the selectors and the frequent changes and adjustments over the years made things extremely challenging for him.
“Last year, I got dropped for the first two Ranji games, and then I made a comeback. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, again, I was dropped for the last two games. So, after that, it was quite tough. You need some clarity at some point. I was not getting that clarity,” he added.
Shankar, who has 3702 runs and 43 wickets in 70 first-class matches, spoke about insecurity in the Tamil Nadu camp and had to keep on proving himself despite being an experienced lad around.
“I never got any secure feeling when it comes to the selectors. So, at one point, I decided I needed to take a call. And I was happy that at least our coach (M. Senthilnathan) came up and told what they (the selectors) were thinking. So, I felt that there was no point staying. And trying to still fight it out to play in this setup was quite difficult,” he exclaimed.
“Even if you take the last three years, I think only in 2022 I batted at one batting position, I batted at No. 6 every game, and I got three consecutive hundreds. But after that, from No. 3 to No. 7, I batted everywhere. So, there’s no explanation to this (why he’s being sidelined). But I can say that all these things have made me a better cricketer today. It made me really tough. I was always in a position where I had to keep performing to prove things wrong,” he explained.
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had …Read More
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had … Read More
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