Allrounder Vijay Shankar may have fallen out of contention for a place in the Indian team but no one can take away his memorable World Cup debut from him. Shankar, who was drafted into the team as Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement made his World Cup debut in India’s match against Pakistan, and after remaining unbeaten on 15 with the bat, Shankar, when it was his turn to bowl, struck off the very first ball.
After bowling 2.4 overs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked off the filed due to an injured hamstring and Virat Kohli handed the ball to Shankar to complete the over. The first ball he sent was a half-volley which Pakistan opener Imam Ul Haq failed to connect bat to and was given out leg-before wicket. It was the perfect debut any India cricketer would have wished for.
“Yeah, that as well as making my WC debut against Pakistan,” Shankar told the New Indian Express. “It (the wicket) happened very quickly. The captain might sometimes tell you in advance but sometimes a bowler might get injured and you should be ready. That’s what happened. I was standing at point and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) got injured and they just called me up. All I was thinking was ‘just bowl in the right areas’.”
But Shankar’s World Cup run came to a screeching halt when he sustained a toe injury in the nets after playing a mere three games in tournament. With Dhawan out, KL Rahul was promoted to open the innings with Rohit Sharma and the team management took a punt on him for the No. 4 spot.
“When you join the Indian team, it’s very clear. I know for a fact that if I play, I will go in at No 4 if there is an early wicket. If not, I will have to be flexible enough. I think that was very clear,” Shankar added.
Despite recovering to full fitness, Shankar hasn’t played for the Indian team since. He was part of the India A squad that toured New Zealand earlier this year, as Hardik Pandya’s replacement, and had a decent work-out in the second warm-up match, scoring a 41-ball 58. He was expensive with the ball before finishing the tour with a 66 against New Zealand A in Lincoln.
Shankar could have been given a second chance with the Indian team – this time in Tests with Pandya out – but the management decided otherwise. But Shankar hasn’t been losing sleep over it and is in fact, working towards earning a Test cap.
“I have been working on all aspects of the game and formats. I have been doing well consistently for India A, so all that actually gave me this call-up. If I had my Test debut, it would have been memorable but nothing’s over. I just keep trying to do my best to get my Test cap.”
