Vijay Shankar explained his motivation for leaving Tamil Nadu and joining Tripura ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season, saying that he never felt truly secure with the selectors during his tenure. Although he received backing from TNCA officials, other selectors did not give him confidence in his place.
Reflecting on his time there, he shared, “Except for TNCA officials I never got any secure feeling when it comes to the selectors or whoever was there. So, at one point, I decided I need to take a call. I was happy that at least our coach (M Senthilnathan) came up and told what they were thinking. So, I felt after a point, there is no point staying here, and trying to still fight it out to play in this setup was quite difficult. I thought, ‘okay, I should move on’ and look out for opportunities,” as he told Indian Express.
Recently, Shankar was issued a No-Objection Certificate by the TNCA, allowing him to pursue options with a new team. This development came after he experienced limited opportunities, including being dropped after the first round of the Buchi Babu tournament despite playing for the TNCA President’s XI. He believed that continuing to compete for a spot became increasingly challenging, leading him to seek more regular chances to play all formats by shifting to Tripura.
Vijay Shankar, now ready for a new phase in his cricketing journey, will be lining up with fellow players Hanuma Vihari and Swapnil Singh at Tripura. Discussing his future, he remarked, “Whatever I have faced in my career, I think those things will definitely help. Because, the most important thing for me is to share what I have learnt. So, if I am sharing something, then I will be very confident about whatever I say. Definitely, looking forward to sharing my knowledge, share my experience. Looking forward to actually getting to learn from them as well. Because they have a different culture there. Yeah. It’s very important to learn that also. Learning is something that’s never ending. I will keep doing that.”
Shankar had contributed significantly to Tamil Nadu cricket in his 13-year association, being part of their successes in tournaments such as Vijay Hazare, Deodhar Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, during the 2024-25 season, he was not selected for the opening two Ranji Trophy matches and spent much of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy benched. His career began in 2012 with his Ranji debut, where he established himself as an important middle-order batter, partnering with B Indrajith. Over 81 Ranji Trophy innings, he scored 3,142 runs at an average of 44.25, including 11 centuries and 16 half-centuries, and claimed 43 wickets with his medium pace.
