This particular development, as pointed out by an Indian Express report, is certainly not a positive one for the Indian Test team ready to open the show during their first match on 12th August. It has been reported that India’s star Test player Murali Vijay could miss the first Test of India’s tour of Sri Lanka at Galle. The dependable Tamil Nadu batsman is facing a race against time to recover from a hamstring niggle and thus he will need to prove his fitness before the first Test match.
As everyone knows, off late, 31-year old Murali Vijay has emerged as one of India’s most improved batsmen in the five-day format having notched up excellent numbers in India’s overseas tours of South Africa, England and Australia. Therefore, he was suitably rewarded for his consistent performances with a place in the second string ODI and T20 side for the tour of Zimbabwe last month. It is worthwhile to highlight that Vijay had a mixed tour with a top score of 72 in the second ODI at the Harare Sports Club.
India’s Test skipper Virat Kohli, had, on Tuesday, showered praise on Vijay’s mental toughness and called him vital cog in the Test setup. Virat Kohli told BCCI TV, “In Test matches he has been a very solid opener for us, especially after the pair of Sehwag and Gambhir that we had, he is the one who has given us lot of stability at the top of the order. The best thing about him is that he is mentally very strong,”
However, in case Murali Vijay fails to recover adequately, KL Rahul will partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order. This dashing 23-year old Karnataka opener, who had impressed with a century in the New Year’s Test at Syndey, missed India’s last Test assignment in Bangladesh due to illness.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka begins with a warm-up game in Colombo on August 6. However with vibrant Virat kohli leading quite a balanced side, the millions of the Indian fans do hope to see some firework resulting in clinching the series by the young Indian side.
