Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar, the allrounder has had a turbulent ascent to the top of international cricket. He was amidst the number-4 controversy in the World Cup and when he was chosen over Ambati Rayudu, a lot of furor ensued which for sure had an impact on the cricketer who got unnecessarily dragged by the fans.

Vijay Shankar Along the year

Career

Vijay Shankar made his domestic cricket debut at the age of 21 by making his List A debut for Tamil Nadu in 2012. As captain, he made Tamil Nadu the winner of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2016.

Vijay Shankar started his IPL career in 2014 with Chennai Super Kings, after which Sunrisers Hyderabad included him in their team in 2017. Till now, Vijay has played for four different teams in IPL. Vijay Shankar's international career started in 2018 with the T20 format, the very next year he was included in the one-day format also.

Domestic Career

Vijay made his debut for Tamil Nadu at the age of 21 in a List-A match against Andhra in February 2012. He scored 6 runs and went without a wicket. In his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu, Vijay scored 63 runs and scalped 2 wickets for his team. He followed this with an unbeaten century in the very next match, thus announcing his arrival.

Vijay pumped up his game in the 2014-2015 Ranji Trophy, impressing both with the ball and the bat. He scored two centuries and three half-centuries in the seven matches he played.

While averaging 57.7, he also scalped 8 wickets and helped his team clinch the title. Due to his phenomenal performance, Vijay was awarded the Bishnuram Medhi Award for the State Cricketer of the Year by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. Following a brilliant domestic season, Vijay was awarded a seat in the India A squad.

In his first match against Australia A, Vijay scored an unbeaten half-century and followed it with an impressive performance in the series against South Africa A. Troubled with injuries in 2016, Vijay came back with a bang in 2017. Handed with the responsibility of captaincy, Vijay led his team to a triumphant victory in the Vijay Hazare and Deodhar trophies.

IPL Career

Vijay was bought by Chennai Super Kings for the 2014 IPL edition, where he played one match for the team before it got banned.

In the 2017 edition, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he played four matches and scored his maiden half-century. In the 2018 season, the allrounder was bought by Delhi Daredevils for INR 3.2 crores where he played 13 matches and scored 212 runs. Before the start of the 2019 season, he was traded back to SRH and will be playing the 2020 season with the franchise too.

Gujarat Titans included Vijay Shankar in their team in the 2022 auction and till now Vijay Shankar is associated with this franchise.

International Career

In November 2017, Vijay Shankar was included in the Indian Test team against Sri Lanka in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar but unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity to make his debut. In February of the following year, he was included in the Indian T20I squad for the Nidahas Trophy and made his international debut on 6 March 2018 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

In the ODI format, Vijay Shankar made his debut on 18 January 2019 against Australia in Melbourne.

ODI Career

In January 2019, Shankar was named the replacement for Hardik Pandya, who was banned for his controversial remarks on a TV show, for the remaining two One Day Internationals (ODI) of the Australian tour and the whole limited-overs series in New Zealand

On the back of some decent performances in the middle-order in 2019, and a pressure last-over finish with the ball, Vijay Shankar earned himself the much-debated number 4 slot in the Cricket World Cup. However, Shankar was ruled out of India's final two matches due to an injury, with Mayank Agarwal named as his replacement. The selectors later got a lot of flak from the public for choosing Vijay Shankar over Ambati Rayudu.

Vijay Shankar played his last ODI game on 27 June 2019 against West Indies at Manchester, he is looking for a comeback in the national squad. 

T20I Career

In February 2018, he was named to India's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and made his debut against Sri Lanka on 6 March 2018. He has so far played 9 T20Is and taken 5 wickets whilst scoring 101 runs.

Vijay Shankar played his last T20I game against Australia at Bengaluru on 27 February 2019. 

Background

A middle-order batsman as well as a useful medium pacer, Vijay was born on 26 January 1991. Vijay Shankar hails from a family of cricketers, his father and brother Ajay has played lower-division cricket for Tamil Nadu.

Vijay Shankar got married to Vaishali Vishweswaran on 27 January 2021.