Who is India's new all-rounder Vijay Shankar?
With wedding bells ringing for seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and opener Shikhar Dhawan being released due to personal reasons, the BCCI has opted for a new face to fill in their shoes against Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar received his maiden call-up for the second Test scheduled to be played in Nagpur from November 24th-28th. So who is Vijay Shankar?
Vijay Shankar gets maiden India call-up
He is a genuine all-rounder
Vijay Shankar made his debut for Tamil Nadu in 2012 and since then he has gone on to play 32-first class matches scoring 1671 runs, including 5 centuries at a stunning average of 49.14. The right arm medium pacer has 27 wickets to his name as well. Vijay is also a key member of the India A squad.
Captained Tamil Nadu to glory
After his impressive performances in the domestic circuit, Vijay was handed the responsibility of captaining Tamil Nadu. The 26-year-old led them to triumphs in Deodhar Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has also been in fine form with the bat and ball in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, scoring a hundred against Odisha while also putting in long gritty spells with the ball.
You must have seen him in the IPL
Vijay Shankar plied his trade for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2017 edition of IPL and also played a few handful knocks for the 2016 champions. Shankar was also a part of Chennai Super Kings before they were suspended from 2012 to 2014. However, Vijay Shankar just played one game for Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings
His career has been plagued by injuries
There is no doubt about Vijay's talent, however injuries have halted his progress. His major setback was a knee injury in 2016. He was replaced by Hardik Pandya in the India-A squad who went on to impress the selectors and seal a spot in the Indian team. Vijay has worked hard on his fitness and recorded 18.5 in Yo-Yo test, the benchmark is 16.10.
Will Vijay make his debut against Sri Lanka?
We don't think so. With seasoned players like Murali Vijay and Ishant Sharma in the line who are like for like replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan it is hard to see Vijay making his debut on 24th of November. But for a man who has been knocking on the doors of the BCCI for a while now, this is truly an achievement.
