The promising Men in Blue all-rounder Vijay Shankar revealed he had gone through a ‘nightmare’ when he almost spoiled the party for Team India in the Tri-nation Nidahas Trophy 2018 final against Bangladesh. He maintained that he was dejected for his show in Sri Lanka.
Shankar, who visibly struggled to score runs at pace, throw away his wicket at the crucial juncture of the game. He faced wrath over social media after almost costing India the match. But Shankar believes he has learnt a lot, thereon.
“For the first one week or so, it was like a nightmare,” Shankar told ToI.
Shankar has learnt his lessons:
The 28-year-old Shankar further admitted it gave him sleepless night even winning the nerve-wracking grand finale against the Tigers.
“I had many sleepless nights. But I have learnt to manage these things. The only way to get out of it was to train really hard and don’t give myself any time for negative thoughts. I have improved my skills since then and it has taught me so many things on the whole,” Shankar added.
When India required five of two deliveries, Shankar who was batting on 17 was caught on the penultimate ball of the match on the bowling of Soumya Sarkar by Mehidy Hasan at the long-off region.
Shankar smashed three fours in his knock, but he consumed 19 balls. However, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik outdid MS Dhoni by smashing a six off the last ball, to script the glory at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on March 18, 2018.
Concurrently, Shankar who is in the contention for the 2019 World Cup, has recently shown what he is capable of during the fifth ODI against New Zealand. He knitted a crucial partnership alongside Ambati Rayudu when India was reeling at 18 for four. He scored 45 to provide an impetus.
Earlier, selection committee supremo MSK Prasad has backed Shankar regarding his contention for the forthcoming 2019 World Cup.
Anyway, there’s good news for Shankar, who has made it the limited-overs squad for India against Australia. The Men in Blue is set to take on Australia in the five-match ODI series after two Twenty20 Internationals.
The home series will kick off with the first T20I on February 24 in Vizag.
