TNPL 2019: Murali Vijay bats left-handed against Ravi Ashwin

Discarded India opener Murali Vijay is currently plying his trade for the Ruby Trichy Warriors in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League 2019. Vijay last played for the Indian team in the Australia Test series, but after failing to score big, he was dumped in favor of Mayank Agarwal. The Tamil Nadu batsman has been striving for a comeback into India colors but has been unsuccessful so far.

The 35-year-old right-hander has appeared for India in 61 Tests, 9 T20Is and 17 ODI matches, scoring 3982, 339 and 169 runs respectively. He has 12 Test centuries to his name and the highest Test score of 167. He was a permanent member of the Indian team for a considerable period of time, but beginning from England tour in 2018, his fortunes began to sink. However, he has kept reinventing himself and one such thing was seen in the TNPL 2019 match against R Ashwin’s Dindigul Dragons.

Vijay bats left-handed

We had earlier seen R Ashwin bowling in the TNPL using only his right arm in a difficult looking action and it suits the unpredictability that goes with the India spinner. He has done similar things in IPL, but for a purist like M Vijay to change his whole batting style, was a surprise for many of his fans. Vijay didn’t change just his grip, but also changed his stance and batted like a proper left-handed batsman to counter Ashwin’s spin.

Here is the video of Vijay’s unique change:

R Ashwin 🆚 M Vijay!

The contest that was! Cricket is the winner! #NammaPasangaNammaGethu #TNPL2019 pic.twitter.com/Pqb5swNVHT

— TNPL (@TNPremierLeague) August 4, 2019

Meanwhile, Vijay has had a successful career in the T20 format. He has played 103 games in the IPL and scored 2587 runs with two centuries, the highest score of 127 and a strike rate of 122.83. Vijay also won the IPL three times in 2010, 2011 and 2018, all with the Chennai Super Kings. He has captained Kings XI Punjab in the tournament as well and it remains to be seen whether he will be retained by the CSK team as he made 64 runs in two matches for them in IPL 2019.

R Ashwin, on the other hand, will feature in the Indian team for the two-Test series in the Caribbean which will be the first for both India and West Indies in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship.

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