Lack of clarity and security made me leave Tamil Nadu Ranji team, says Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar on Thursday (August 28, 2025) said that his decision to part ways with Tamil Nadu was prompted by a lack of clarity and security regarding his position in the team.

Most recently, he was dropped from the TNCA President’s XI for the last two of the three group-stage matches in the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai.

“To decide on this was quite tough, because since my u-13 days, I’ve played for around 23 years for Tamil Nadu. And since 2011, I’ve been part of the First-Class team. So, definitely, it was not an easy call.

“But sometimes, when you’re forced to take that call, you need to move on and look out for opportunities. I think I’ve been playing well. And more importantly, I want to play cricket, that’s it. I can’t go out there and just sit out and give water. It’s quite difficult after playing for so many years.

“Last year, I got dropped for the first two Ranji games, and then I made a comeback. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, again, I was dropped for the last two games. So, after that, it was quite tough. But this year, I thought things would be fine since I did well last year. You need some clarity at some point. I was not getting that clarity.

“I never got any secure feeling when it comes to the selectors. So, at one point, I decided I needed to take a call. And I was happy that at least our coach (M. Senthilnathan) came up and told what they (the selectors) were thinking. So, I felt that there was no point staying. And trying to still fight it out to play in this setup was quite difficult,” he said over a phone call.

The 34-year-old said that he often felt the need to prove himself to the selectors.

“I think that this has been the case for me. So, that’s why, it was a great experience for me. I could have told them that I need to bat at a certain batting position. Even if you take the last three years, I think only in 2022 I batted at one batting position – I batted at No. 6 every game and I got three consecutive hundreds.

“But after that, from No. 3 to No. 7, I batted everywhere. So, there’s no explanation to this (why he’s being sidelined). But I can say that all these things have made me a better cricketer today. It made me really tough. I was always in a position where I had to keep performing to prove things wrong,” he said.

Talking about his move to join Tripura, he said: “I never spoke to any other Association. It was during this Buchi Babu (tournament) that I spoke to Tripura. I knew they were looking for a professional. And they said they were ready for it. So, it made things very easy for me.”

Asked for his most cherished memory with the Tamil Nadu team, he said: “I would say it was the time I got my Tamil Nadu cap. It was always a dream for me to play for Tamil Nadu. From bowling spin to medium pace happened, just because I wanted to get into the Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy side. I got my cap from Bala bhai (L. Balaji) and VB sir (V.B. Chandrasekhar) was the coach.

“And then, as captain, I won three tournaments (Vijay Hazare, Deodhar, and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophies). I think that’s a very special thing.”