Vijay Shankar injured; ruled out of upcoming Quadrangular series
What's the story
India's and Tamil Nadu's middle order batting talent and useful pacer Vijay Shankar was supposed to feature for the India B side in the upcoming quadrangular series also involving India A, Australia A and South Africa A, but latest reports suggest that the right-hander will be missing out on the tournament owing to a hamstring injury.
In case you didn't know...
Vijay Shankar debuted for India in the 2018 Nihadas tri-series trophy against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, after a few seasons of superlative performances for his state in the domestic circuit, including the Ranji Trophy.
With most of the seniors rested for the tri-series, Vijay came into the squad as an all-rounder who can don both roles of batting and bowling as and when needed. However, he just got one chance to bat, and that was the unforgettable series-finale where he faced the brunt of several fans after playing out a slow-coach innings (17 off 19 balls) that would have cost India the game, before compatriot Dinesh Karthik's six off the very last ball granted India a runaway victory.
Nevertheless, Vijay had struck a boundary in the last over despite the immense pressure on him, and that could have been an indication of what to expect from him in the future.
He played in the 2018 IPL for the Delhi Daredevils and was one of the few standout youngsters from the whole tournament, scoring 212 runs from 13 games at an average of 53 and a strike rate of over 140. One of his knocks was 31-ball-54 against eventual winners Chennai Super Kings.
Since the IPL, the 27-year-old has been featuring for several domestic sides, the latest of which was supposed to be the India B-representation in the quadrangular series.
The details
The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) announced the news of Vijay's injury and subsequent ruling-out via a press release on Sunday morning (August 12), with the series slated to begin five days later. Vijay is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, where he is seeking the help of medication and the available physios to recuperate from the injury.
What's next
As mentioned above, the series will begin on 17th August 2018, with India B's first match being against India A on August 19th. All the matches of the tournament will be held at the Mulapadu twin grounds near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
So far, the BCCI selectors have chosen not to name any replacement for the injured Vijay, and it is expected that they will field eleven players from the remaining 14-men side captained by Manish Pandey.