Vijay Shankar, a former India cricketer, opened up about online trolling and its effects on a cricketer's psyche and form. Shankar, who is currently playing in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL 2026), was heavily trolled for playing out a maiden over in a crunch situation in a match in the Lanka Premier League (LPL 2026).
Vijay Shankar was at the crease when his team needed 22 runs in the last over to win an LPL 2026 match. He played out a maiden over before being dismissed off the final ball. After playing six dot balls, when 22 runs were needed in the final over, the former CSK all-rounder received a lot of abuse on social media.
He responded to the trolls by explaining what it meant to him and a number of other people who had similar experiences.
"For me, what is painful is that many people's careers have ended because of things like this. So, this is actually a career-threatening issue. I came out of it. But even if I came out, where can I go?" Shankar said on R Ashwin’s YouTube channel.
Shankar’s last sojourn came in IPL 2025 for CSK. He overall played 78 matches across four teams and scored 1233 runs at an average of 26.23 and a strike rate of 129.78 with seven fifties.
Vijay Shankar explained the situation in which he had to play a maiden over in the final over of the LPL 2026 game. He claimed that he was batting with the tail and that his teammate Wanindu Hasaranga and a few others were dismissed quickly. As a result, he tried to score as many runs as he could while keeping the strike to himself, but he was sadly unsuccessful.
"The situation was such that when I went in, the game was almost done. We needed 22 runs in an over. As soon as I went in, it was a power blast, which is a two-over period where they could call the fielders inside. I was playing the situation. After a good over, Hasaranga got out. I had a good start, but he got out towards the end of the over, and subsequent batters also got out. I was batting with the tailenders and could not give them a strike. I was trying to hit. There were two chances to take doubles, but if we got run out, it would be a waste. I also thought about net run rate and tried to take it close. This is exactly what happened,” Shankar said.
Shankar also discussed the online trolling and revealed that he found it difficult to handle all the negative comments and said that it impacted his career as well.
"It was definitely a bit hard for me. When people talk without knowing the situation, it is tough. I have come to these leagues to play cricket and become a better cricketer. So, when things like this come out, it might affect the growth of my cricketing career. I had such thoughts, like, when I go to another tournament, what will they think of me, or how will they look at me?" the ex-India cricketer added.
Vijay Shankar played 12 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India as well, playing in the 2019 World Cup. He announced his retirement from international, domestic, and IPL cricket in 2026 to explore opportunities in various leagues around the globe.
