Murali Vijay hasn't really made the most of his chances and the pressure is on him after another casual dismissal against Sri Lanka yesterday
Murali Vijay hasn't really made the most of his chances and the pressure is on him after another casual dismissal against Sri Lanka yesterday
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When Murali Vijay made his Test debut replacing the suspended Gautam Gambhir in the fourth Test against Australia in 2008, he did not get a lot of runs but his innings impressed one and all.
Since then, he has always been on the fringes and the first choice replacement opener in Test matches.
But of late, he has not been performing to his potential and in the ongoing Test series in Sri Lanka, he has either failed to capitalise on the good start or, like yesterday, got out playing an unnecessary shot.
Of his nine innings in seven Tests, Vijay has managed two half-centuries and scored 306 runs at an average of 34.
While his record is not very poor, it is also not the kind that will not force the selectors to look elsewhere.
Former India Test batsman Praveen Amre believes the Tamil Nadu opener must perform or perish. "He (Murali) must remember that there are a lot of opening batsmen like Wasim Jaffer (Mumbai skipper) who are waiting to replace him. If he is given an opportunity to play in a strong batting line-up which has someone like Yuvraj Singh sitting out, then he must make full use of that opportunity since nobody knows when he will get such an opportunity once Gambhir comes back into the side," Amre said.
Suresh Raina is a classic example of seizing the opportunity. The southpaw played the second Test due to Yuvraj Singh's illness and scored a hundred. There was no way the team management could leave out someone who had scored a hundred in his only Test innings.
But former India all-rounder Madan Lal feels it is too early to pass a judgement on Murali.
"It is too early to say anything about his performances. He needs to be given some more time to prove his credentials. He is talented and knows his game well. I am certain he will come good in the future and turn the fifties into centuries," the 1983 World Cup-winner said.
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