Murali Vijay talks about his evolution as opener

Dec 12, 2014

Murali Vijay came into national reckoning in the 2008 home series against Australia. His chance came as a result of a one-match ban on Gautam Gambhir. He was presented with consistent opportunites only five years later, starting from Australia’s tour in 2013 in which he impressed with his appetite for big scores.

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The year ahead saw the making and evolution of Vijay as a Test opener for India. He has grown in leaps and bounds since. He has played some Ground Breaking innings over the last one year,  the 97 at Durban, followed by his first overseas ton at Nottingham and a 95 at Lords which was equivalent of double hundred considering the conditions he encountered are the few that spring to mind. He hopes to carry the confidence attained on the England tour into Australia and if the first innings at Adelaide was an indication, Indian fans will entertained thoroughly this winter. Although he was disappointed at having failed to  convert a promising start into something more substantial in the first innings of the first Test in Adelaide against Australia, he was quoted by as saying on bcci.tv, the official website of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“I started off really well and I was set to get a big one. But two overs before lunch there was a lapse in concentration. That’s one thing I have to work on. Hopefully this start will help us a team and me individually to move forward in a positive way.”

Vijay believes that the transition from playing on docile wickets at home to the venomous ones in countries such as Australia is mental more that technical. He and the team are striving towards consistently applying themselves in the middle so as to sustain performances overseas through the course of an entire series,

“I think more than technical it is about being mentally prepared. We all really want to do well abroad. We have done it well in patches in the last year or so but haven’t been able to do it consistently enough to win the series. So, before coming here and leading up to the series not only me but everyone in the team worked on our mindset to be able to handle the bounce and cope with the conditions.”

Vijay felt that he went into a shell on the brink of lunch rather than playing instinctively as he had done before, which contributed to his downfall,

“It didn’t affect my footwork as such. I was consciously looking to play out till lunch and went into a defensive mindset. That’s one thing I have to be careful about in the future. I should have continued to play the way I was playing rather than getting into that mode.”

Vijay also talked about the pleasure of scoring his first overseas hundred at Nottingham earlier this year,

“It was a real big deal for me to go to England and do well because I was a little upset when I missed out the last time. Playing Test cricket in England and here in Australia is in itself a special feeling and scoring runs for the team adds so much more to the whole experience.”

The opener also stressed upon the fact that an ugly hundred is worth more to the team than a flamboyant but shor lived 25. From his experiences of South Africa and New Zealand he leant how to curb his natural instincts when the situation and conditions demanded so. In fact he goes on to say that an innings played out of character is most satisfying,

“What I’ve learned in the last eight-nine months is that you cannot always play by instincts. I’ve realized that as an opening batsman, I cannot say, ‘Okay, this is how I know how to play and I will stick to it’. It might work for someone but for me it doesn’t.  I’ve just got to curb my instincts and be prepared to play out of my character. I learned that lesson in South Africa and then did well in New Zealand. I put all that experience in use when we went to England. We went their early and I had the time to figure out what would work for me in these conditions. The century (146) at Trent Bridge strengthened my confidence a great deal. It told me that I can play out of character and score runs for the team. It is especially satisfying to successfully do something that doesn’t come naturally to you. ”

Vijay recognises that as an opening batsman he is expected to score heavily at the top. To achieve that goal he has found an ideal balance between attack and defence. He feels at the top of his game at this stage of his career and wants optimise what could be his peak as a batsman.

“It was. In the last two Tests at home against West Indies, I scored stroke-filled 20s and 40s. When I am in that zone, I can hit any ball, but I somehow got out. When you throw your wicket away like that after getting a start, it puts pressure on any batsman, but especially so if you are an opening batsman because you are expected to get big scores at the top, ” he said

“Questions begin to get raised if you should be picked for the next series and it feels really bad to be in that position. At some point, it makes you question yourself. Then you start worrying about your place in the side and insecurity creeps in. You start going into your shell, start thinking too much and go into a totally defensive mode with the bat. That makes things worse.” added the batsman

“I decided the only way for me to get out of that place was to cement my place in the team. For that the key was to find the right balance between playing my natural game and making the necessary alterations in temperament to suit my role in the team. I am in a good space right now and the next goal is to maintain that balance and score those big hundreds like I have done at the domestic level.” he also said

When one’s played a substantial number of innings of substance, comparisons are inevitable as to the value of those innings. Vijay rates the 95 at Lords as one of the most special innings he’s played for India considering the state of the match and the unique challenge of typical English conditions that India encountered in that match as opposed to the 97 in Durban which was played on a surface vaguely reminiscent of the ones back home.

“Both were tremendous confidence boosters. In Durban I was under the pump and really wanted to come good. I batted really well at Johannesburg and that gave me confidence going into the Durban Test. The ball was reversing in Durban and it helped that I play a lot of reverse swing back home at the domestic level. Lord’s was different. We had lost a couple of wickets and the situation was tricky. I told myself, ‘this is my big chance to do something special for the team; get the team out of the jail’. It was wonderful that I could do it.” said the opener

Although missing out on hundreds at Durban and Lords was disappointing he doesn’t feel his dismissals had anything to do with the score he was batting on,

“I don’t get too worried about getting out in the nineties if get out to a good ball. In Durban, Steyn was in the middle of a tremendous spell and I just wanted to get through it. But suddenly one ball came back at me and kicked in. At Lord’s I wanted to ensure I stayed at the wicket until the new ball came, which I did. But I couldn’t stay on to play the new ball. I played a little away from the body, trying to push the ball to covers for a couple of runs and keep the momentum going. Maybe I could have left it but I thought it was a pretty good one nipping off the wicket.”

Vijay emphasises that in order to kick on from the attractive 30’s and 40’s that he was being associated with, he has had to work on his shot selection, which is essentially a mental aspect of the game as its rate of success depends upon one’s mental discipline.

He says “my main focus was on getting out of the habit of those scores of 30s and 40s because they really haunted me. I had a chat with my coach, Jaykumar, during which we came out with three points: shot selection, shot selection and shot selection. Nothing was wrong technically with my batting, it was only the shot selection that went wrong.

Then it came down to fitness – whether I was throwing it away because I got tired? We worked on small aspects like that and it is paying dividends now. I also got a lot of help from TNCA and Chemplast. Duncan has been helping me a lot as well.”

Vijay gives us insights into his routines and preparations before a Test match

“Batting is complicated but as a batsman you have to think that it is simple. I should never think that it is complex or else I will complicate things in my head. The red ball is the question posed at me and I am there to answer it with my bat. In the end batting is a reaction sport. You’ve got to react according to the ball that is bowled to you. If it’s a full delivery, you cannot play a pull shot.

I never try to out think the bowler because that means I am pre-planning and not reacting. I just train my mind so that it is ready to react in the best possible way to the ball. That is what zone is for me. When I react perfectly to every ball, I am in the zone. Sometimes, leaving a ball perfectly will give me more happiness than playing a flamboyant drive.”

Vijay was massively influenced by batsmen such as VVs Laxman and Mark waugh, some of that reflects in his freakishly strong wrist work which allows him to hit balls pitched around off stump in an arc from extra cover to mid-wicket

“Laxman is one of my favourite batsmen and I enjoyed the way he flicked the ball from outside the off-stump. Maybe watching him bat all these years I picked that up from him. But while growing up, when I started to watch international cricket, I really liked Mark Waugh. He made the game look so simple. Anything he did, batting, bowling or fielding, he did it with ease. ” the opener said of former greats

Vijay’s evolution as a batsman has been a continuous process and he continues to strive to learn and get better at his art. He also alludes to the challenges of coming in and out of the team when the Indian top order had vacancies on in case of injuries

He said “every phase is a challenge because you face different difficulties every time and learn different lessons. Whatever I went through in the initial part of my career is helping me now. After scoring a century (in Bengaluru against Australia in 2010), I didn’t get to play the next Test series. I took it in a positive way saying, something good will come out of this too. It helped me be more mentally balanced whether I do well or not. ”

He feels public perception can be a little distorted at times. He finds it hard to fathom how he’s occasionally been portrayed as somebody with an attitude problem. But having said he reacts to criticism constructively and tries to use it to his advantage to grow as a cricketer and an individual.

“I don’t think so. I have in fact, spoken to a couple of journalists and asked them what it is that I am doing wrong that they portray me as this guy with a lot of attitude and arrogance. I hardly interact with them and it is only in the press conferences that they see me. I find it strange how they have formed an opinion about me without even knowing me as a person. I don’t know where they gather this information. But, having said that, if there is something that I can do to be a better human being, I am prepared to work on it. I am not a judgmental person. If I read something negative about me, I try to take it in a positive way and think maybe I have portrayed myself in that way.”

Unlike a lot of cricketers Vijay reads what’s written about him and is candid enough to admit that public perception matters to him

“I do care about what people think about me but I don’t have the time or the means to go and tell everyone what they think about me is wrong. Also, it is their job to write and say anything they want about a player. I can’t go and tell them what to or not to write about me. If something has really offended me, I would go and clarify things. But at the end of the day, it’s just a perception, not necessarily the truth.”

Vijay heaps praise on his India and Chennai Superkings captain MS Dhoni and hopes to learnt a thing or two from the man.

“He has that knack of assessing the situation and delivering exactly what is needed at that time. It is a rare thing for a cricketer. Most of us go in with our own game plan and stick to it. But he can change the course of action swiftly according to the situation he is faced with. It is very difficult for a sportsman or anyone go out of their comfort zone. MS does that so effortlessly and it is a gift. It is something I have appreciated and tried to pick from him during all these years of IPL and international cricket with him.

Also, I know everybody says that he is calm, but that is because he really is calm. He doesn’t only have to remain calm himself but also ensure everyone else in the dressing room is calm. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him and he has guided me as a person in many ways,”  Vijay said of the Indian skipper

Vijay endevours to complete his education as an International batsman in the coming years by playing and scoring runs all over the world

“I want to be a complete batsman who can score runs in any format. It might happen, it may not but I will keep striving for excellence and working hard towards it,” concludes the batsman