15 facts about Murali Vijay- India’s classy Test opener

Murali Vijay, the India and Tamil Nadu opener is an elegant batsman. He has become a consistent performer for the country in Test cricket since past few seasons and the team relies heavily on him to give good starts. Vijay is known for his sound batting technique and an ability to score runs in challenging conditions. He prefers to play off the front foot and loves hitting down the ground. Equally adept off the back-foot, the right-hander is also strong square of the wicket.

1. Birth:

Murali Vijay was born on 1^st April 1984 in Chennai, India.

2. Attempt to give up studies:

Vijay initially decided to give up studying after failing his class XII exams. His family was into studies however he was completely opposite.

3. Left home at 17:

Having flunked his exams and a stray remark from his father that he was fit to be a peon, Vijay decided to leave home at the tender age of seventeen. Homeless, Vijay checked into the Deluxe Hotel in T Nagar.

4. The snooker parlour job:

Desperate to earn some money, he hid his plight from his friends and found work in a snooker parlour. He exercised, worked in the snooker parlour and somehow even found time to nurture his passion by practising cricket.

5. Chain business’:

He even joined a chain business later and tried to influence other people to join it as it would get him some commission. Vijay feels that that was the period in his life which made him independent. It also taught him that he could survive anywhere and anyhow. He learnt that he had it in him to even survive on the streets. That made him tougher as an individual.

6. College days:

Vijay later went back to his studies, cleared the board exams and went to Vivekananda College in Mylapore, Chennai. Vivekananda College was well-known for promoting cricket and it suited Vijay in an apt way as he tried to further his ambition in cricket.

7. Long hair:

Vijay’s ambitions suffered a rude jolt when he was apparently not selected for the Tamil Nadu team at the age of 21 because he had long hair. Not one to let anything come between him and his love for the game, he had gone that very evening to have a hair-cut.

8. Spotted by Bharat Arun:

It was Bharat Arun, India’s bowling coach and a well-known figure in Tamil Nadu cricket, who first spotted Vijay’s talent during his early days. Arun asked Vijay to play for the Chemplast team in Chennai’s club cricket league.

9. Nickname:

Vijay has earned ‘Monk’ as his nickname possibly because of his calmness, patience and composure. It is Vijay’s true grit and steadfastness that has transformed him into one of the better and consistent openers in the world in Test cricket.

10. Test call-up:

In his first few seasons of first-class cricket, Vijay became famous for converting starts into huge scores. One of those big scores came in a 462-run opening stand with Abhinav Mukund, which earned him a Test call-up in 2008-09 as replacement for Gautam Gambhir, who was serving a one-match ban for an on-field altercation. He impressed with scores of 33 and 41 on debut against the Aussies as India wrapped up the series 2-0. This 4th and final Test of the series was Sourav Ganguly’s farewell Test.

11. Failure against the Windies:

Vijay kept scoring big in crucial IPL matches, but it seemed to have taken patience out of his game. There was a period of about four years during which he scored as many first-class centuries as in T20s: two. It didn’t help that he failed in the only full series he got as a Test opener, in the West Indies in 2011.

12. Strong comeback:

When Vijay was finally given another full Test series, against Australia in 2012-13, it was a selection based more on potential than runs in domestic cricket. Vijay made merry by scoring back-to-back 150s and impressed with his improved back-foot play and the ability to buckle down and play time.

13. Tests in Australia in 2014-15:

Vijay soon became India’s first-choice opener during the Tests in Australia in 2014-15, emerging as India’s second-highest run-scorer behind only Virat Kohli. Vijay had brought about subtle changes to his batting and reaped benefits on the tour. He, however, didn’t make it to the squad for the 2015 World Cup.

14. Test Stats:

Vijay’s 65 innings in 37 Test matches have produced 2630 runs at an average of 41.09 including 6 tons and 12 fifties. His top score is 167 against Australia in Hyderabad. India won this match by an innings and 135 runs.

15. ODI stats:

Vijay has not been a regular member of the ODI side having struggled to replicate his Test form. He has scored 339 runs in 17 ODIs at an average of 21.18 including one fifty. His top score of 72 was against Zimbabwe in Harare in a match that witnessed India victorious by 62 runs. Vijay’s 9 T20Is have produced 169 runs at an average of 18.77 and a top score of 48 against Afghanistan.