'It happened very quickly' - Vijay Shankar recalls his memorable moment from 2019 World Cup

Vijay Shankar, the talented Indian all-rounder traveled with Team India squad to play the 2019 World Cup. Moreover, he got a dream debut in the mega-event as he managed to grab his first wicket on the very first delivery of his tournament. In an interview, the 29-year-old opened up about the same and explained how he managed to pull off an amazing performance in the marquee event against Pakistan.

The 29-year-old made his international debut back in 2018 on the back of his convincing performances in domestic cricket. Later on, the selectors picked him in the 2019 World Cup squad. It is well known that the national selectors had to face heavy criticism for giving preference to Shankar ahead of Ambati Rayudu. However, the Tamil Nadu born all-rounder proved his worth in his debut match of the World Cup and recorded economic bowling figures of 2 for 22 in his 5.2 overs.

Vijay Shankar opens up on his World Cup achievement 

In an interview, Shankar said that everything in the match against Pakistan happened very quickly. As per him, usually, the captain tells the bowler in advance that he is going to bowl. But, sometimes that is not the case. He added that Bhuvneshwar Kumar got injured in between the over and Kohli called him to complete the over.

The 29-year-old seaming all-rounder recited that he was just focussed to bowl in the right areas when he was given the responsibility to finish the over. According to him, he managed to execute his plan well and got a wicket (Imam-ul-Haq) on the first delivery of his debut World Cup against Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester.

After that, his name entered the record books as he became the third bowler to take a wicket on the first ball of his World Cup.

“It [Imam’s wicket] happened very quickly. The captain might sometimes tell you in advance but sometimes a bowler might get injured and you should be ready. That’s what happened. I was standing at point and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar] got injured and they just called me up. All I was thinking was ‘just bowl in the right areas’,” Vijay Shankar said as quoted by the New Indian Express.