CHENNAI: Vijay Shankar vividly remembers the day he first got the Tamil Nadu cap from L Balaji 13 years ago. It was the 2012 Ranji Trophy clash against Vidarbha and Vijay Shankar made his first-class debut for his state as a 22-year-old and went on to score an unbeaten 63 in the first innings. After more than a decade of playing for the state and multiple domestic white-ball titles, that continues to remain his most memorable moment.
Which is why, when he had to take a call about moving on from his home state and representing Tripura in the upcoming season, it was not easy. The India international feels he was "forced to" take a call after having to constantly prove his place in the team and fight for opportunities at this stage of his career. In the end, it all came down to him wanting some clarity on where he stands and having the chance to play the sport.
"I've played almost 20 — from U-13 — I can say 23 years for Tamil Nadu. Since 2011, I've been part of the first-class team. So, definitely, it was not an easy call. But, sometimes when you're forced to take that call, you need to move on and look out for opportunities. I think I have been playing well and more importantly, I want to play cricket, that's it. I can't go out there and just sit out and give some water. It's quite difficult after playing for so many years," he said, days after officially moving to Tripura.
The 34-year-old said that he did not feel secure and lack of clarity from the selectors meant he had to take a fresh challenge. Vijay Shankar scored 476 runs in 11 innings in the last edition of Ranji, including two centuries, after not taking part in the first couple of games. "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. But this year, I thought things would be fine since I did well last year. You need some clarity at some point. I was not getting that clarity," he said, before adding, “Except for TNCA officials I never got any secure feeling when it comes to the selectors or whoever was there. 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 us 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."
The 34-year-old said that he often felt the need to prove himself to the selectors. "I think that this has been the case for me. So, that's why, it was a great experience for me. I could have told them that I need to bat at a certain batting position. 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 said. "Definitely, a lovely journey. It was one of the best. Whatever experiences that I had over the years in terms of batting at different positions, bowling when the team needed me. So, everything just made me a better cricketer today. So, I'm very happy that I have played a good level of cricket because of all those hurdles and opportunities. So, I really enjoyed all that," Vijay Shankar added.
As far as his move to Tripura is concerned, the 34-year-old said that the learning never stops and he is looking forward to sharing fresh experiences in a new environment. "I think that will be a good experience. Now, by the time I finish my career, I think I would have at least experienced a different culture. Maybe, I see this as a good learning opportunity for me to go out there and be in a very professional way. Because, once you move as a professional, you need to do a lot more things than what you're doing here. In terms of playing, it's just the same. But in terms of taking care of yourself, you're going to stay away for quite some time now. So, all those things, I think, will be really good.
"As cricketers, you need to keep pushing yourself every now and then. And this, I feel, will be a new journey for me. Going to a completely different, new setup. And the culture will be very different to what we had here. So, from there, I am just looking forward to go out there, spend some time with everyone there. And if I can contribute something to the team's victory, as I always say, and if I can get the team to the next level, I will feel really happy about it," he signed off.
