Team India all-rounder Vijay Shankar has failed to live up to the expectations in his short stint in international cricket. The selectors inducted the all-rounder in place of Hardik Pandya, who was struggling with injuries. However, Shankar has drawn of comparisons with the Baroda-born all-rounder, but the former has downplayed all such discussions.
He was also a part of the ICC World Cup 2019 squad in England but had to return midway owing to a foot injury. But with Hardik recovering and returning to the scheme of things, Vijay Shankar is finding it difficult to break into the squad. Shankar also lost his place in the mix with the emergence of Mumbai-based all-rounder Shivam Dube.
Vijay Shankar downplays comparisons with Hardik Pandya
But the Tamil Nadu-born all-rounder admits that he is not loosing his sleep to make a comeback into the playing XI. Furthermore, he also downplayed the comparisons with the dynamic all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“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),” Vijay told PTI during an interview.
“When 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,” Shankar added.
Meanwhile, since his ouster from the World Cup, Vijay Shankar has not featured in the Indian team. He was a part of the India A squad that toured New Zealand in place of Hardik Pandya. He played a good knock with the bat and will be eying to have a good Indian Premier League stint to be back in the reckoning.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is keenly looking at the October-November window to the host IPL 2020, originally slated to host the ICC T20 World Cup 2020.
