Vijay Shankar unperturbed on comparisons with Hardik Pandya

Vijay Shankar made it to the Indian team on the back of good run-scoring for Tamil Nadu recently

What's the story?

Talented Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar, who has been called up to India's squad for the upcoming Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka, has said that comparisons to fellow all-rounder Hardik Pandya do not disturb him.

"Every cricketer has something special to give. As cricketers, we look up to everyone. We can learn from everyone and it's not about comparing," Shankar told IANS.

In case you didn't know..

India opted to rest several of their first choice members for the T20 tri-series, which will also include Bangladesh, besides hosts Sri Lanka.

Captain Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were given a break for the short series. In their place, the selectors called up players who have been consistent at the domestic level, like Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, and Rishabh Pant.

The heart of the matter

The 27-year-old pace-bowling all-rounder Shankar was rewarded for his recent form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament as well as the recently concluded Vijay Hazare 50-over competition. In the former, he had amassed 152 runs at a strike rate of 121.60 with one half-century, while in the latter competition, Shankar ended up hitting scores of 100 and 84 in four innings, while bagging two wickets with the ball as well.

"I always see domestic [cricket] as a very important stage because whenever I do well I get that confidence of getting to the next level from there. So it is very important for me to do well in the domestic matches," Shankar reflected on the importance of domestic cricket.

What's next?

The Nidahas Trophy, scheduled to celebrate Sri Lanka's 70th Independence Day, begins on March 6 with two round-robin matches before the final on March 18. All matches will be hosted at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Author's Take

Comparisons with a compatriot become inevitable once a young newcomer steps into the senior side, irrespective of his experience and form in the domestic circuit.

Also, it would be too soon to even think of comparing Shankar with Pandya when Shankar is yet to even make his debut for India.