Nobody spoke to me after I was dropped, says discarded opener Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay had a decent outing in the 2014 Test series in England but had a forgettable campaign of the same country in 2018 as he managed a paltry run tally of 26 in four innings, including a pair in the second Test at Lord’s. Vijay missed the third Test and was dropped for the final two Tests to be replaced with teenager Prithvi Shaw. The discarded opener has now claimed that he was not told the reason for his axing by any source in the selection committee.

The 34-year-old batsman, who is just 67 runs short of 4,000 runs in Tests, has also been ignored for the two-Test series against the Windies at home that started on Thursday and with a number of new players now emerging for the opening slots, it has become a tad tougher for Vijay to return to the XI.

“Neither the chief selector nor any other person spoke to me in England after I was dropped from the third Test,” Mumbai Mirror quoted Vijay after he appeared for Tamil Nadu against Tripura in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match in Chennai on Wednesday.

“None of them have spoken to me since. I did have a conversation with the members of the team management in England and that’s it.”

Karun Nair had a similar allegation

Another batsman Karun Nair, who did not get to play any Test in England despite travelling with the side and was also ignored for the Windies series, had said that the team management did not tell him what he needed to do to return to the Test side.

Vijay also agreed to veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh over the latter’s harsh take on the selection process. He said Harbhajan’s opinion over the parameters of selection is something he too backed. “I think it is important that a player is told about the reasons for keeping him out so that he knows where exactly he stands in the team management and selectors’ scheme of things.”

Vijay hit form after he was dropped from the Test side. He played for county side Essex last month and hit one hundred and three fifties in five innings that he played last month.

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