Published: Jan 30, 2017, 10:22 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 30, 2017, 10:22 PM (IST)
Murali Vijay is all set to return to action as he has been named in Tamil Nadu’s squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2016-17. Vijay has been out of action since India’s final Test against England at Chennai. His first match is expected to be against Goa at the Guru Nanak College in Chennai. Vijay will replace wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik in the Tamil Nadu squad, who will miss the rest of the tournament to attend his sister-in-law’s wedding. Tamil Nadu selector S Sharath confirmed Vijay’s availability for the remainder of the matches. Vijay injured his shoulder in the Chennai Test and did not open the batting. He came in at No. 6 and scored 29. READ: Karthik’s 45 helps TN beat Karnataka by 4 wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2016-17
Vijay and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin were named in the Ranji Trophy squad for their match against Karnataka but they withdrew a few days later. Ashwin cited sports hernia, while Vijay had not recovered from his shoulder injury. “Ashwin told me that he has sports hernia, and if he continues to play he may have to go for surgery,” TNCA secretary Kasi Viswanathan told ESPNcricinfo. “What he needs is rest. That’s the diagnosis.” Karthik did not keep wickets Tamil Nadu’s 72-run loss against Hyderabad. “Yesterday Karthik had a collision with [Baba] Aparajith while taking a run [against Karnataka],” Tamil Nadu coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar told ESPNcricinfo. “He had a bit of a trouble in crouching and moving, so that’s the reason why he didn’t keep wicket.”
Vijay will be hopeful of proving his fitness ahead of the one-off Test against Bangladesh beginning from February 9 at Hyderabad. After the Bangladesh Test, India will play Australia in a four-match series against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
