‘I didn’t do anything bad’ – Vijay Shankar opens up on facing trolls after Ambati Rayudu’s ‘3D’ tweet

A couple of years ago, Vijay Shankar was expected to become a significant part of India’s limited-overs team. Owing to his all-round abilities, he was selected ahead of Ambati Rayudu for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. However, a toe injury meant Shankar got ruled out of the tournament after playing just three games. Since then, he has not been picked in the national team despite India’s dearth of fast bowling all-rounders.

In a recent interaction, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder opened up about many things, including his comeback plans, online trolling, and also Rayudu’s infamous tweet. As mentioned above, Shankar made it to India’s World Cup squad ahead of Rayudu, who was expected to bat at number four for the Men in Blue.

After the team for the gala tournament was announced, a disgruntled Rayudu tweeted: “Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup.” He apparently took a dig at Shankar’s selection, who was deemed as a three-dimensional player.

Since then, the 3D tag has been attached to Shankar. Time and again, social media users have used this tag to troll Shankar whenever the all-rounder endured a poor outing in the Indian Premier League or domestic matches. On being asked if the 3D tag frustrates him, Shankar said that people troll him without understanding his role in the side.

They gave me a tag randomly and made it viral: Vijay Shankar

“I have no connection to that. They gave me a tag randomly and made it viral. But after that tweet, I played three games for India (World Cup) and did decently. I didn’t do anything bad. Even in the IPL, my batting orders have been different. A lot of people compare me to Rayudu, but the batting orders and conditions we play in are different.

“It’s okay to even compare, but at least see which slots we’re batting in. A lot of people don’t know that. They don’t see that, and they just want to enjoy in social media at my expense,” Shankar said in an interaction with News18.

Shankar also said that he has no grudges with Rayudu and the two cricketers are in good talking terms. “We talk well when we meet. There’s no personal issue between us. It just so happened that his tweet became viral. I definitely don’t have any grudge against Rayudu. Even when I met him recently in Delhi, we had a super conversation,” the 30-year-old asserted.