Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay was a terrible student. He flunked his board examinations and was even suggested by his father to consider applying for a peon’s job. But Murali was a cricket freak. Day and Night, he would dream of one day representing India at the highest level; an idea his family absolutely detested.
With his family unwilling to support him, a 17-year-old Murali Vijay ran away from his home and for six months shared a small room with two other people at a hotel in Chennai. He worked at a snooker parlor for a living.
And, as they say, the dream does come true if you grind for it day-in-and-day-out. And, Murali did exactly that. He only started playing cricket at the age of 17 at college-level where he caught the eye of the current Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun to play junior level and Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu.
And, it was his record 462-run-stand with Abhinav Mukund that proved to be the clincher for the former Test opener. He was soon called up to the national team as a replacement for Gautam Gambhir during the 2008 Test series against Australia.
Post the retirement of Virender Sehwag and the snub of Gautam Gambhir in 2013, Vijay made the opening position his own. He was India’s best player during their overseas Test cycle of 2013-15, scoring tons in England and Australia.
In 61 Tests, Vijay has racked up 3982 runs at an average of 38.29 with the help of 12 hundred and 15 half-centuries.