Why Murali Vijay cannot afford to fail in South Africa

Tags: India, Murali Vijay, India tour of South Africa 2013-14, South Africa

Published on: Dec 01, 2013

The case of India opener Murali Vijay has been a strange one in Indian cricket. He was selected out of the blue for the Nagpur Test against Australia in November 2008 after regular opener Gautam Gambhir was unavailable for the game.

The case of India opener Murali Vijay has been a strange one in Indian cricket. He was selected out of the blue for the Nagpur Test against Australia in November 2008 after regular opener Gautam Gambhir was unavailable for the game. He made a decent start to his Test career, getting starts in both the innings, 33 and 41, being before dismissed. Most who saw him on debut were impressed with his technique and composure. Expectedly, with Gambhir coming back, Vijay found himself in Test wilderness for the next year.

He next played a Test in December 2009, again replacing Gambhir, and this time Vijay made 87 against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium, the same Test in which Virender Sehwag smashed 293. The innings made the selectors sit up and take notice. He was retained the team for the next few games, but with Sehwag and Gambhir opening he was pushed up and down the order. He played a few Tests over the next couple of seasons, but did not do much and was dumped in mid-2011 only to be recalled for the home series against Australia earlier this year, ahead of Gambhir.

In the meantime, Vijay has built a reputation for himself as a destructive T20 player in the IPL, playing some incredible match-winning knocks in finals of the event. Ironically, his record in international one-day and T20 cricket is pedestrian. After 14 ODIs and seven T20s, he averages under 20 in both the formats. And, incredibly, in spite of all his IPL exploits he hasn’t been chosen for an international T20 game since January 2011. Coming back to his Test career, when the team for South Africa was being announced, there were murmurs that Gambhir might edge out Vijay on current form and experience.

Gambhir scored a big hundred on the eve of the selection for the tour of South Africa. Many thought that would be enough for him to book a place on the flight to Africa. Even with Vijay in, he could have been chosen as the third opener. But, with only two Tests to play, the selectors decided Vijay could fill in the slot along with Shikhar Dhawan. There was also a thought that Gambhir had been given enough chances. Hence, the selectors chose to bring in a middle-order batsman in the team, and drafted in Ambati Rayudu.

Irrespective of the Gambhir factor, it must be said that by selecting Vijay for the South African series, the Indians have taken a major risk. Vijay’s record away from home points towards this fact. Although he has only featured in only 18 Tests till date, four of those have been on foreign soil, and in these games Vijay’s record is abysmal. He played the Durban Test in 2010 and made 19 and 9, and was worked over by pace in both the innings. On the 2011 tour to West Indies, he failed against a fragile side. Vijay’s scores in the three Tests were as follows – 8,0,11,3,5 and 45.

If Vijay fails in South Africa, there could be quite a big backlash in India about his selection.

--By A Cricket Analyst

Related News