Vijay Shankar, the allrounder has had a turbulent ascent to the top of international cricket. He was amidst the number-4 controversy in the World Cup and when he was chosen over Ambati Rayudu, a lot of furor ensued which for sure had an impact on the cricketer who got unnecessarily dragged by the fans.
Vijay made his debut for Tamil Nadu at the age of 21 in a List-A match against Andhra in February 2012. He scored 6 runs and went without a wicket. In his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu, Vijay scored 63 runs and scalped 2 wickets for his team. He followed this with an unbeaten century in the very next match, thus announcing his arrival.
Vijay pumped up his game in 2014-2015 Ranji Trophy, impressing both with the ball and the bat. In the seven matches he played, he scored two centuries and three half centuries.
While averaging 57.7, he also scalped 8 wickets and helped his team clinch the title. Due to his phenomenal performance, Vijay was awarded the Bishnuram Medhi award for the State cricketer of the year by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. Following a brilliant domestic season, Vijay was awarded with a seat in the India A squad.
In his first match against Australia A, Vijay scored an unbeaten half century and followed it with an impressive performance in the series against South Africa A. Troubled with injuries in 2016, Vijay came back with a bang in 2017. Handed with the responsibility of captaincy, Vijay led his team to a triumphant victory in Vijay Hazare and Deodhar trophies.
Vijay was bought by Chennai Super Kings for the 2014 IPL edition, where he played one match for the team before it got banned.
In the 2017 edition, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he played four matches and scored his maiden half century. In the 2018 season, the allrounder was bought by Delhi Daredevils for INR 3.2 crores where he played 13 matches and scored 212 runs. Before the start of 2019 season, he was traded back to SRH and will be playing the 2020 season with the franchise too.
In January 2019, Shankar was named the replacement for Hardik Pandya, who was banned for his controversial remarks on a TV show, for the remaining two One Day Internationals (ODI) of the Australian tour and the whole limited-overs series in New Zealand
On the back of some decent performances in the middle-order in 2019, and a pressure last-over finish with the ball, Vijay Shankar earned himself the much-debated number 4 slot in the Cricket World Cup. However, Shankar was ruled out of India's final two matches due to an injury, with Mayank Agarwal named as his replacement.The selectors later got a lot of flak from the public for choosing Vijay Shankar over Ambati Rayudu.
In February 2018, he was named in India's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy and made his debut against Sri Lanka on 6 March 2018. He has so far played 9 T20Is and taken 5 wickets whilst scoring 101 runs.
A middle order batsman as well as a useful medium pacer, Vijay was born on 26 January 1991. Vijay Shankar hails from a family of cricketer, his father and brother Ajay has played lower division cricket for Tamil Nadu.
