Murali Vijay hopes for better showing in Caribbean

In 2011, Murali Vijay was one of the few inexperienced players to make their way to the West Indies. It was a terrible showing as Vijay was subsequently dropped from the side. However, his recent form in almost all formats domestically has seen him become India’s premier Test opening batsman. However, Vijay has set a stiff target for himself, a target to erase the terrible performances the previous time the Indians toured the Caribbean in 2011.

However, the 31-year old Tamil Nadu batsman has stated that it was indeed a great experience playing under Ravi Shastri and now looking forward to the time with Anil Kumble.

“It has just been a couple of days for us,” said Vijay when asked about the experience of playing under Kumble. “We had a great time with Ravi [Shastri] bhai and now Anil bhai has picked up from it. Hopefully, we can have a good time with him and learn a lot of things from him. He’s been an unbelievable cricketer for the Indian team. Really looking forward to sharing some quality time with him.

“My first Test match was his last Test match, so I couldn’t spend a lot of time with him. But I’ve been a great fan of him as a youngster; who isn’t? It is a great opportunity for us to talk to him about cricket, his thought processes and learn from that and move forward now. I think it is going to be a great time for us,” Vijay added.

“Over a period of time, it’s going to be good for us, because he has 900 international wickets under his belt. It’s going to be great for us to know what kind of things we can expect in a high-pressure game.”

“Actually, last time, it wasn’t good,” conceded Vijay. “Overall, the team did well, but personally not that great. Hopefully, I can pull it off this time.”

“I have been to West Indies three times before. Obviously, I have a fair bit of idea how it is going to be there. We don’t know what is going to be given for that particular Test match. We have to be prepared overall, as a unit because this is the start of our season. I’m just looking to stick to my basics and be as consistent as possible in the season, and if I can do that, I’ll be happy at the end of it,” he said.

Vijay also stated that the Caribbean is a great place to play cricket. “It’s a great place to play cricket because it is more of fun and there is great competition inside. You can’t ask for more as a sportsperson. Entertainment overall. We are looking forward to this series. Have a great one and come back to India and play those Test matches. It will be a great confidence booster for us to go there and perform, and execute our plans to the best. There is a lot at stake for us,” he said.

Finally, Vijay also addressed the Kohli-Kumble combo, stating that it was certainly too early to speak about it. “It’s very early to comment on (how the Kohli-Kumble combo will work). But it’s going to be a great 12 months for us – that much I can guarantee as a team. We’re going to be up for it, and we just want to be the best we can in this coming twelve months,” he summed up.

Also, check out – It’s not about Ravi or Anil, it’s about the team doing well: Anil Kumble