Indian all-rounder and CSK player Vijay Shankar has taken a dig at the Tamil Nadu selectors for leaving him out on several occasions, which ultimately forced him to leave the Tamil Nadu State Team and switch sides to the Tripura State Cricket Team for the upcoming domestic season.
Several veteran players who have been playing in state teams for years are now occasionally seen complaining about losing their spot to newer players, especially in the first-tier State teams. Hence, several players are seen making abrupt moves to other state teams, who are willing to offer them their desired role.
Hanuma Vihari is one such player who did a similar thing as he moved to a new State association, but one player who has been vocal on his move and has been blaming the authorities for forcing him to take the drastic step is CSK star Vijay Shankar.
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CSK all-rounder Vijay Shankar has moved to the Tripura State Cricket Team
After a lot of discussions and too much thought, Vijay Shankar finally decided to move out of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association since he was not getting closure on his role in the side.
He was repeatedly being sat out on the bench and was given a default role of a water boy, despite scoring runs and proving his worth every time he was given a spot in the playing XI. The same treatment that he received in the CSK setup.
Shankar, who was not happy with only a few chances but rather wanted to be a regular in the playing XI, opted out of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and made a move to the Tripura Cricket Association, where he would pair alongside Hanuma Vihari.
The 34-year-old stated that he has received the No-Objection Certificate from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) and is eager to begin the next chapter of his cricketing journey.
I can’t go out there and just sit out and give water – Shankar
Shankar has taken a massive dig at the Tamil Nadu selectors, alleging they have not provided any clarity to the all-rounder. He was dropped on several occasions despite perfomtong well.
“Sometimes, when you’re forced to take that call, you need to move on and look out for opportunities. I think I’ve 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 water. It’s quite difficult after playing for so many years,” Shankar told The Hindu.
Shankar was further frustrated at being left out of the Tamil Nadu President’s XI for the few matches of the Buchi Babu Tournament. He also did not have a great IPL playing for CSK. Despite all, he is expected to star for CSK in IPL 2026.
“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. You need some clarity at some point. I was not getting that clarity,” said the CSK all-rounder.
I never got any secure feeling when it comes to the selectors – Vijay Shankar
The 2019 World Cup campaigner and now CSK all-rounder, who looks for some clarity in the State team, has severely lacked it over the years. Despite having an undeniably good Ranji record, the batter has never received a sense of security from the TNCA selectors.
“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 what they (the selectors) were thinking. So, I felt that there was no point in staying. And trying to still fight it out to play in this setup was quite difficult,” said Shankar.
He even mentioned an incident from three years back, in 2022, when he scored 3 consecutive hundreds in 3 matches at the no. 6 position, but was then rolled over from no. 3 to no. 7 in the remainder of the season.
“So, there’s no explanation for 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 added.
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