Vijay Shankar - On the path to redemption
Modern sport is one of the great levelers of life. When one team may seem on top, the tide turns and in a flash, the hunters become the hunted. It applies to individuals as well, participating in an individual sport.
It also applies to individuals in a team, coming back from the brink and in some cases, beyond it, and earning redemption. Vijay Shankar's time with the Indian team may not have been as dramatic as other examples that cricket has to offer, but if he does find himself in the squad for the 2019 World Cup, it would be one of modern-day cricket's mini redemption stories.
Shankar's USP is that he can come into the team as a seam-bowling all-rounder, a commodity that, other than leg spin, finds itself in extremely high demand. Almost every major cricketing force has one. Ben Stokes for England, Marcus Stoinis for Australia, Andile Phehlukwayo for South Africa, and up till a few months ago before injuries forced him out of the attack, Hardik Pandya held that position for India.
The seaming all-rounder acts as the bridge between the top order and the tail, as it was during the time of Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee.
Shankar's introduction to international cricket came via the Test arena where he found himself warming the benches for a couple of matches before being named in a largely second-string squad for the Nidahas Trophy in March 2018.
While foraying into international cricket is considered to be tough, even Shankar would scarcely have imagined the questions it would bring about his hard-earned reputation in domestic cricket.
Though he was chipping in with some wickets, he did not get a chance to bat until the final against Bangladesh. And when he did, he struggled to 17 off 19 before getting out off the penultimate ball of the match, leaving state-mate Dinesh Karthik to hit that momentous six to send India into delirium.
While 17 off 19 is by no means cataclysmic in T20s, it was the apparent inability to even connect with the ball during the course of that innings which left people wondering whether Shankar possessed the required skill set to thrive at the highest level. It seemed that India only had Pandya as their seaming all-rounder.
Cut to exactly a year later, and Shankar now finds himself on the cusp of the World Cup squad after some highly reassuring performances in the T20s and ODIs against New Zealand and Australia.
With Hardik Pandya out injured at an inopportune time considering this is India's final limited overs assignment before the Word Cup, Shankar has thrown his hat into the ring.
While he may not break into the XI with a fully fit Pandya in the side, his ability with the bat may also allow the selectors to consider him for the no. 4 position, one that in all honesty, has found no suitable takers apart from Shankar (having batted at no.3 and no.5) and Ambati Rayudu, meaning Shankar can be used as a makeshift for two different positions in the line-up.
Rishabh Pant is also in the mix for the no.4 slot but he may be taken mainly as MS Dhoni's understudy, and playing the two of them in the same XI leaves India vulnerable with no concrete 5th/6th bowling option available.
Shankar's determination to prove himself after the fracas a year ago could be especially seen in his two ODI innings till date, scoring 45 and 46 in tough situations before being run out in both, none of which were of his own doing.
The apparent ease with which he scored his runs and his ability to clear the boundary at will in both innings is what has suddenly thrust him into the limelight. Being tasked with the last over in Nagpur was also a sign of his development in Virat Kohli's eyes.
And if he can further solidify his claim through this series and book himself a place on the plane to England, it would be the closing of a fine chapter, and the start of hopefully an even better one in his fledgling career.