Vijay Shankar: 'I'm not thinking about making an India comeback. I'm just enjoying myself'
After a season hobbled by injury, the Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder says he's fighting fit and ready for anything the IPL might throw at him
I've always been responsible with whatever I've done in my life so far (laughs). I'm also married now, so there's a lot more responsibility. It's going to be interesting…
Actually, this number [100] was in my mind when I joined the Tamil Nadu team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy in January. I was thinking of playing my 100th T20 game, but then I totally forgot about it.
It has been an amazing journey. When it goes your way, things might happen quickly [for you], but sometimes you may have to grind all the way. I had to wait for my opportunity to get into the Indian side. And then injuries and all… These were all great challenges for me and I just thought I should focus on things I can control: my practice and training. Every time I come out of an injury, I've always focused on my own thing rather than what's happening outside. That's one thing that made me push myself. I don't really compare myself with others and I don't think about what others are doing. For me it was important to get better as a cricketer.
For me, it's all about adapting. I don't see myself as a middle-order batsman or a top-order batsman. Since I've played at various positions, it's very important for me to be flexible. What I've been doing is trusting my own strength more than these things, because [be it] power-hitting or conventional batting, the end result is important. It's about showing results and doing well.
The injury happened on January 10. It was the Jharkhand game. The Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament was very important for me to make a mark in some way, but then the very first game, I got injured. I was pushing myself to play but I realised later there was no point [doing that] when I was not 100%. After the [2020] IPL, I did all my tests and I was fully fit, but I came back and got injured. These things are very frustrating mentally, especially when you want to make a mark and push for India selection and all that.
Yes. No one at home asks me about these things. They always support me and don't ask why this or that is happening. I do update them about my status, but they know I'm doing my best and some things are beyond my control. I went to Maldives for a few days and to Ooty, and then mentally I was much more free. Most importantly, I took the decision of backing out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I thought I should be smart. I've played a lot when I'm at just 80-90% fitness before.
I've put a lot of work into my bowling and batting with Balaji sir. I'm someone who likes spending more time at the nets, but unfortunately, due to the injuries, I had to focus on rehab, which I did with my physio Thulasi Ram and trainer Rajinikanth. Now, I've been giving more time to my skills.
Definitely. I'm confident in the role. Last year, if you see, overall I had an economy of around 6.6 [6.22] and bowled reasonably well in the opportunities I got. Last year also I mentioned that I've worked on my bowling. It was about putting in more time, and I have now.
Yes, I'm learning from them and they come up with different variations. It's important for me to learn how they execute it, and in a way it's good to talk with them. Even my coach says he learns now by watching the game. As a cricketer, learning is never-ending.
That innings is very special [to me] because I was supposed to bat down the order. Because we lost early wickets, they asked me to pad up. I just went in. I was completely blank and had no clue when I went in - as in, I knew I had to fight that situation out and get the team to a good position. I wasn't thinking about Archer bowling really quick and all that. I was being myself and trying to go with my instinct. I was pretty happy that it was coming out pretty well. As a cricketer, you always want to do well against the best. So that innings gave me confidence in some way.
It definitely was added pressure for me. I knew that either that game or the next would have been the last for me had I not got runs. If you see the previous games I played, I hadn't batted much - in the first match I got out first ball, and then I was out [of action] for a while. I came back and played against KKR and CSK.
That keeps coming up every now and then (laughs). Sometimes when I'm idle in my room, I watch my own videos [of old innings]. As a player you will want to push yourself for a comeback, but I want to do it the other way. I don't want to put myself under pressure to perform or get back into the Indian team. I just want to enjoy the game and I feel I've done really well when I've enjoyed every small thing I do. The end result will take care of itself. So, whatever happens, I'm ready to take it.
I'm from Chennai and I've played a lot of matches here, but this is going to be really different because if you see in the last one and a half years, I haven't played much at Chepauk. It's going to be really new for me as well. This ground is always special because as a youngster, when I started playing my cricket - Under-13 or whatever - it was my dream to play at Chepauk. I'll definitely look forward to it. I can see the ground from my room as well. It's always, always special.
(Laughs) For now, we really don't know how the pitch is going to behave. However the wicket is, they [Afghanistan spinners] are some of the best in the world right now. When they come good, it's going to be challenging for whoever comes up against us. As a team, we've been doing consistently well for the last few seasons. So, it's important for us to keep doing that and look to get better from that.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo