Twitterati think Vijay Shankar is lucky to make the cut in India’s World Cup 2019 squad

Fate has a big role to play in careers of cricketers. Showcasing talent comes only after one gets the opportunity and Lady Luck certainly plays a decisive role in finding that opportunity. Tamil Nadu cricketer Vijay Shankar would consider himself lucky to make it to the Indian squad for the upcoming World Cup in England for he was nowhere near the scene of making his India debut until a TV controversy hit Hardik Pandya, the ace all-rounder who faced a temporary suspension because of it.

Vijay was sent to Australia and New Zealand as Hardik’s replacement and he made use of the opportunity. A year ago, Vijay did not have things sailing smoothly for him. He had a tough time in scoring briskly against Bangladesh in the final of a T20 tournament last year in Sri Lanka and even though Dinesh Karthik saved him by hitting a last-ball six, the former continued to be trolled for his slow batting (17 runs off 19 balls).

It was a learning experience for Vijay who has come up with a much better performance in the last few months both for India ‘A’ and the senior team. His counter-attacking 46 off 41 balls before getting unfortunately run-out in a match against Australia at home and then picking two wickets for 15 runs earned particular praise from the fans and experts. So far, the 28-year-old has played in just nine ODIs and as many T20Is and would consider himself lucky for having made it to the WC squad.

For many though, Vijay’s opportunity perhaps gave him more than he deserved but the tall batsman has shown that he can bat according to the situation and could be used as a floater in the innings. Vijay, in fact, could be one the Indian team management might bank on as the No.4 batsman in the order even though he has never batted in that position.

India also omitted young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant as the more experienced Karthik got the nod ahead of him as the second keeper in the side after Dhoni.

Here are some Twitter reactions to Vijay Shankar’s inclusion in India’s WC squad:

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