Only die-hard cricket fans would remember India’s 2014 campaign in England. While most would remember this as Virat Kohli‘s worst ever series, where the former India captain was troubled by off-stump deliveries mostly from James Anderson, Murali Vijay, the team’s opener, faced more than 1,000 deliveries. But that’s not what Vijay was remembered for in this series. He kept 40 percent of those deliveries. Vijay may no longer be a part of the Indian team or its domestic team, but this series remains the epitome of a newbie in Test cricket.
Vijay last played for India in the 2018 Australian tour in Perth. He was later axed after a run of bad form and never returned. He last played for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy in 2019. Vijay has not been part of competitive cricket since last year when he played in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). But in a cheeky dig at the BCCI, the 38-year-old expressed his desire to return to the sport and is now looking for opportunities abroad.
“I am almost done with BCCI (smiles) and I am looking for opportunities abroad. I want to play some competitive cricket,” Vijay told WV Raman on Wednesday with WV, a weekly show on Sportstar.
The lanky right-hander played County Cricket in England for Essex after his Test offense and did quite well. Vijay, who has scored 3928 runs for India in 61 Test appearances and 339 runs in 17 ODIs, also spoke about the need for a change in mentality towards a player’s age.
Vijay says “It’s a taboo after thirty in India (smiles). I think people see us as 80-year-old people walking down the street. Otherwise, the media should also deal with it. I feel like you’re peaking in your 30s. Sitting here now, I feel like I can hit my best. But unfortunately those opportunities were fewer and I had to look for chances outside.I honestly feel that as a person you can only do what is in your hand. You cannot control the uncontrollable. Whatever happened, happened.”
