Murali Vijay sets his eyes on domestic cricket to make a comeback

Indian Test opener Murali Vijay is back to the grind and has set his gaze on success in the domestic circuit. Not too long ago, he was dropped from the Test squad after his poor run with the bat in England. The Monk scored a mere 26 runs in four innings in the first couple of Test matches, both of which India lost to England. He was subsequently axed from the team and found himself on a flight back home.

However, the right-hander turned up for his club in Chennai’s first division league before returning to England for a stint with 2017 county champions Essex. Although Vijay played only three four-day games for Essex, he scored runs aplenty. The Tamil Nadu batsman finished with three fifties and a century in five innings, which should boost his confidence considerably.

On Tuesday, the opener was back in his own backyard and was seen training hard ahead of joining Tamil Nadu for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.

On successful county burst

Speaking about his County stint, Vijay said, “It was a great experience to go back and play in England and perform well, contributing to the team’s cause. I have great memories.”

When asked about his chances of getting back into the Indian side, he added, “Yes, of course, I am confident. We play cricket for that. I never thought I would play for India when I was young. I gained confidence over a period of time and never looked back from there. There were a lot of ups and down and that’s the way it goes. I am now looking forward to the new road ahead and hopefully, I can ride it the way I want to ride it.”

Earlier this year, Murali Vijay got off to a few starts against South Africa but found it difficult to convert them into big knocks. However, he scored a century against Afghanistan in their inaugural Test back in June.

Since he was overlooked for the two-Test series against the Windies, Vijay will look to use the first-class season at home to make a case for his selection ahead of India’s tour of Australia. Back in the 2014 series, he was the second highest run-getter (482 runs) Down Under.

Speaking about his missed opportunities in South Africa, Vijay said, “What has happened has happened. Now one needs to have the mindset to go and grind it again and enjoy cricket. I have a lot of things to give back to my team and hopefully, I can put TN in a good state this year and am going to focus on that aspect.”

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