Vijay Shankar steers away from Pandya comparisons

All-rounder Vijay Shankar, who recently debuted in the Nidahas Trophy and won the Man of the Match in the 2nd T20i against Bangladesh, says he doesn’t want to put himself under pressure by drawing comparisons with India regular Hardik Pandya and instead focus on improving his own skills.

The notion of the comparison stems from the idea that India already has a seam-all-rounder in Hardik Pandya. He will have to enhance his chances of cementing a place in the team as an all-rounder, considering that Pandya has a stronghold on that position and he will have to make way once the regular players return.

No point comparing me with Pandya: Shankar

“For me, what is more, important is to get better and better every day. Because the pressure or comparing me with Hardik because he is also an all-rounder, I think most cricketers don’t like comparison but it is important for us to show what we have and give our best instead of putting ourselves under pressure,” he said, as reported by Cricbuzz.

His call-up was a result of him being one of the Tamil Nadu all-rounder being just one of the six players to have 1500 runs and 25 wickets in domestic cricket. Vijay Shankar was first called up as a replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the final two Tests against Sri Lanka at home last year. Although he didn’t get a break there, his chance finally came in the shortest format of the game in Sri Lanka.

“It feels really great, I have been working really hard. I think the intensity with which I have been working, all that paid off with this and I feel it is just a start for me. As a cricketer, the constant thing is to keep improving and learning and I am really looking forward to the coming weeks,” he said.

“I think the inner strength that I have helps me stay calm. Obviously when you are playing for India is special but I try to play each and every game seriously and my only thinking is to improve every day, so it has been good for me.”