Brilliant to see Rohit and Mayank do well but give fair chances to dropped players, says Murali Vijay

Reporting from Dindigul

10th December:

Murali Vijay is 35. It was a long day on the field for the veteran opening batsman against Karnataka on day one at the NPR College Grounds, Dindigul on Monday. 10 minutes post stumps, Vijay, who last represented India in Tests in December 2018, was a determined man having a hit in the nets.

When his turn arrived with the bat on Tuesday, Vijay showed class and technique in his 32 before he was trapped in front by Karnataka spinner K Gowtham. After the second day’s play, there was a light moment wherein Vijay and India’s latest Test sensation Mayank Agarwal greeted each other with a smile.

Vijay, who has represented India in 61 Tests and has 3982 runs at 38.28, spoke to reporters at length about the new Indian opening combination of Rohit Sharma-Mayank Agarwal and much more.

Excerpts:

How do you find the challenge of playing domestic cricket after facing quality international attacks for so long?

It is always a difficult place for a batsman. From facing 140kmph to suddenly playing 120-125kmph is a difficult transition to make to your skillset. But as a professional cricketer, you have got to adapt to it and that is what I have been doing. Any batsman who plays international cricket will find it difficult to play domestic cricket because of the lack of speed and pitch conditions. The mindset is entirely different in domestic cricket. At the domestic level, it is even more difficult at times to score because they keep safer fields. International cricket is more attacking.

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The Indian team has a bunch of new openers doing well. What do you have to say?

It's brilliant. It's brilliant to see Rohit and Mayank doing well. But I feel they should give fair opportunities at a decent level to players who have been dropped. It's not easy to go out and perform at the top level. The openers who have been in the wings should be taken care of too.

Rohit Sharma

What is your opinion on Rohit Sharma opening for India in Tests and his technique against the new red ball?

He has scored over five hundreds (over 500 runs) in the World Cup. He has had a great start as an opener in Tests. It is brilliant to watch him play. (But) every player should be getting a fair deal. That will happen in the future hopefully with Dada Sourav Ganguly at the helm.

Are you happy that Sourav Ganguly is at the helm?

I am looking forward to his stint. He is a strong personality. He will deliver, I am sure. His last game was my first game. One thing for sure he is a players' man. He has done well as a captain and as an administrator hopefully, he will bring a structure for cricketers to do well.

Are you hurt that you weren't considered for Duleep Trophy and India A matches?

It’s not hurting me. I feel hurt because the system is still happening that way. I am just not talking about myself. I am talking about cricketers who have been left out, they should have a platform to make a comeback. Players shouldn’t be left in the wilderness.

Sourav Ganguly has made comebacks in international cricket and he can understand the pain of other cricketers...

He set an example right. He went through it. I’m a great fan of Indian domestic cricket but I’m taking my own case. After this, what? Where am I going? I got to fight my own battles...dream and dream or is there a structure where you score these many runs and you will again come back into consideration.