LEEDS: The Indian team is in the semifinals of the World Cup. And he is the unfortunate character to have missed the bus. When his teammates go through their routines in the business end of the competition, he will be resting in Chennai, giving his injured toe time to heal.
It’s bad luck Vijay Shankar, for missing out on a chance to play more in a tournament every cricketer wants to be part of. But then, not everybody in the scheme of things believes he should have been there in the first place.
Going by a member of the squad, Vijay’s inclusion had surprised some in the team. Not ability, but his role in the XI caused more of it. Even they were taken aback when the Tamil Nadu player was named in the side as an all-rounder and then tried out as No 4 in the batting order.
“Of course Vijay is a fine player, but did he merit a chance in that important a position? I am not sure, considering the way he plays. Maybe lower down the order he would have been alright. At No 4 I think there was an element of risk in fielding him. It’s a specialist batsman’s position where he looked out of place,” said the member of the squad.
If one goes strictly by figures and the opportunities Vijay got, this view seems to have a basis. In the three matches that he played, Vijay made 15 not out against Pakistan after coming in to bat towards the end of the innings.
Against Afghanistan and West Indies, he got to bat at the coveted position and made 29 and 14. He was given the ball only in the match against Pakistan and did a decent job by taking two for 22 in 5.2 overs.
Interesting it appears, that he was not asked to bowl against Afghanistan and West Indies when India were defending relatively low totals.
“It’s a bit of neither here nor there. Vijay was included in the side as an all-rounder when Hardik Pandya was not available for selection. That’s something we can understand. But when Hardik was back, for what role was he picked again? Obviously there was no need for another all-rounder. And if he was taken a specialist batsman, did he look the part to be batting at No 4?” said the squad member, who can’t go on record.
A crucial phase of the World Cup coming up, the team management and selectors who are travelling with team, will be looking at other aspects. But the selection of Vijay will continue to raise questions. Not due to any fault of his. He did what he could after being asked to bat in a position he never really has. To be fair to him, he tried and looked decent. But what he achieved was clearly not enough.
And it’s not just the media or those who follow the fortunes of the team asking this question. It has come from within the team, which shows that not all decisions taken by the management or selectors are received with open arms.