Once touted as a three-dimensional player for India in the ODI format, Vijay Shankar has gone off the radar very quickly. His ouster from the national fold has happened rather quietly compared to the noise that his inclusion created during the ICC World Cup 2019.
Now, having faced a lot of time away from the limelight of the game, Shankar laments lost opportunity and inconsistent batting positions he has been offered over the last few years. Terming it as a major factor behind his poor run of form with the bat, Shankar has made statements seeking consistency from the team management.
He has sought consistency from the Indian team and his Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad and said if he does not score at number four or five he should be rightly axed from the team.
“If I have to score runs, I need to spend more time on the crease. So I’m not saying I want to open the batting. Just saying, even if I bat at No. 4 or 5, let it be one slot at least for domestic. And then if I don’t score runs, drop me, I’m okay. That’s what I have missed out in the last two years,” Shankar said in an interview with News18.
He also discarded the belief that all-rounders such as him should only bat at the lower order and said that he believes he could be the next Jacques Kallis and Shane Watson for India if given the chance.
“I’m an all-rounder, but I’m known for my batting. So just because I’m an all-rounder, it shouldn’t be like I should bat only at No. 6 or 7. I can also be someone like Jacques Kallis or Shane Watson. They open the innings or bat at No. 3 and bowl. It’s not a compulsion that an all-rounder has to bat at No. 6-7. If I can score runs at the top, and pick wickets, it’s good for the team too, right?” Shankar added.
Shankar was dropped from the team after the ICC World Cup 2019 and multiple injury setbacks pushed him further away from the reckoning.