Life's not been easy for Vijay Shankar in the last few months. The Indian all-rounder had to fly back home midway through the World Cup in UK and then, just as he recovered and was about to step on the field again for India A, the 28-year-old suffered a cut to his right thumb webbing during a fielding practice session that further ruled him out for four weeks.
"It has been a really frustrating last two-and-a-half months or so ever since I got back from the World Cup because I have been training hard and yet you get these freaky injuries like this," Shankar told Sportstar as he finally made a comeback with a solid unbeaten 91 in Tamil Nadu's win over Bihar in the league phase of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Saturday (September 28).
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"We can’t do much how much ever we train hard or be fit or be careful. These things just happen. I was just training hard and pushing myself be it running hard when I am with the team or at the gym."
"I can’t keep thinking about these things and my family, my close friends and my personal coach (S. Balaji) play a huge role in ensuring I stay positive."
Shankar, who has played 12 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India since his international debut last year, recalled: "When I got injured during the India A tour now, I just couldn’t call and tell because I was just so frustrated and disappointed."
"So I sent a message to my coach and he said keep training hard. Sometimes you need that one message from someone close to you to motivate you and make you keep pushing."
Having kept himself occupied through rehabilitation and training, Shankar will be hoping to regain his place in Team India soon.
"I feel when I come and sit with the team I keep doing my things and keep pushing myself," he said. "I can’t sit idle at home. I will get depressed so it good to be in a team atmosphere where I can give ideas and be involved."
"I feel I need to be busy so I don't give myself too much free time to start thinking about my injury."
"It was a pretty good game but I can’t be too happy because this is just the start for me after a frustrating two-and-a-half months."
(Inputs from Sportstar)
