The legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar praised the Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar for his recent performances against Australia in Nagpur ODI.
Vijay Shankar has utilised his limited international opportunities very well. In the recent Nagpur ODI, the all-rounder played some crucial roles for India to secure a thrilling victory.
Coming to bat at no.5, the right-handed batsman played a crucial innings of 46 runs off 41 balls. He had an 81-run partnership for the fourth wicket with the skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 116 runs and won the Player of the Match award in that match. Unluckily, Vijay Shankar lost his wicket through a run-out.
During Australia’s chasing, he had to defend 11 runs in the final over while Australia had two wickets in hands. Before that over, he had the bowling figures of 1-0-13-0. On the first ball of the final over, he dismissed the set batsman Marcus Stoinis who was batting on 52 runs. It was Vijay Shankar’s first ODI wicket.
At next, the Australian tail-enders snatched two runs on the second ball of the last over. However, in the next delivery, Vijay Shankar secured a thrilling victory after taking the last wicket. The host side India won that match by eight runs.
Sunil Gavaskar has liked that bowling performance as he feels that it will encourage Vijay Shankar to go higher.
The former Indian captain wrote for TOI, “Shankar was given the huge task of bowling the final over of the innings and defending 11 runs when in his only previous over he had conceded 13. That leap of faith by the Indian skipper could well be the making of Shankar, who can only go higher after the outing in Nagpur.”
The more he plays, the more confidence he will get
Sunil Gavaskar believes that Vijay Shankar will gain more confidence by playing more consistent international matches.
The Indian legend added, “The more he plays, the more belief he will get that he belongs at the international level. This is such an important aspect for newcomers who are never sure if they have crossed the bridge from domestic cricket to international cricket.”
Though Vijay Shankar made his T20I debut in March 2018, his ODI debut was in this January. The 28-year-old has played six ODIs and nine T20Is where he has scored 91 and 101 runs respectively. As a right-arm medium pacer, he has also picked up two and five wickets in T20I and ODI formats respectively.
Vijay Shankar can be a good option as the batting all-rounder
Sunil Gavaskar believes that India needs a batting all-rounder at present. Talking about that, he also pointed out Ambati Rayudu‘s failure as an off-spinner.
However, the legend now feels that Vijay Shankar can play the batting all-rounder role very well.
Sunil Gavakar wrote, “India needs batting all-rounders and with the Rayudu experiment as a bowler having come a cropper, Shankar could be that option that gives the side an extra bowler without adversely affecting its batting strength.”
Vijay Shankar has made a positive impact in the recent international matches. Many experts, including Sunil Gavaskar, believe that the all-rounder should play the upcoming World Cup.
England and Wales will host the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup from 30th May to 14th July. Meanwhile, India will begin their World Cup journey on 5 June against South Africa at Southampton.