Aim to win matches for every team I play, reveals Vijay Shankar

A meteoric rise followed by a precipitous fall, Vijay Shankar’s international career has been a roller-coaster ride. After a forgettable start to his Indian career - thanks to his botched Nidahas Trophy knock - Shankar became a mainstay in the limited-overs side during the turn of 2019 and his ability to perform under pressure saw the Men in Blue take him to the World Cup.

However, lack of defining performances and injuries have marred his career and now, almost a year on, Shankar finds himself completely frozen out of the national setup. The 29-year-old all-rounder revealed that he generally does not give thought to making a comeback to the Indian side and always focuses on winning games for the teams he plays for.

Shankar further added that a national comeback would beckon him if he focuses on the task at hand, which is to win matches for his team irrespective of where he plays.

“I generally don’t think where I stand or what I should do to get back into the Indian side. Last year, I never thought I will get into the World Cup,” Shankar told Sportstar.

“My basic thinking is wherever I play, I should look to win matches for the team. If I keep doing it, I am sure I will go back playing for the country. I have to keep improving my cricket so that I can be the best for my team.”

Like last year, the all-rounder, this year, too, toured Kiwiland with the India A side, but enjoyed a far less successful campaign, scoring just 80 runs from three games. The 29-year-old rued the missed opportunity, stating that he let slip chances to finish off matches, and admitted that the tour served as a learning curve for him. Eventually, the Kiwis downed the visiting Indian A side 2-1 in the unofficial ODI series. 

“I feel I could have finished a game this year (NZ A series) but I missed out. The last time I was there, I had finished a couple of games which helped me get into the Indian side. When you are batting down the order, you won’t get many opportunities so it is important to grab that one chance. 

“It is not that I got out early or struggled. I batted well and scored 41 [before falling to James Neesham]. If I had finished it, then it could have been different but that was a learning experience where I just told myself what I could have done in that situation to prolong the innings.”