IPL 2023: The best part for me was the team’s trust – Vijay Shankar on his good form this season

Gujarat Titans middle order batter Vijay Shankar has been batting at his absolute best for the reigning champions in the ongoing IPL 2023. Though Shankar did fail to time the ball against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium when his team was chasing 198 runs, he was able to switch gears towards the end to score a crucial knock of 53 runs off just 35 balls with the help of seven fours and two maximums.

Shankar could only score 19 runs in four matches of IPL 2022 but he made a solid return to the domestic circuit after undergoing a knife. The right-hander from Tamil Nadu was bought by Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 mega auction for INR 1.40 crores and he was finally able to prove his mettle in the ongoing season.

Shankar has scored 287 runs in nine innings at an average of 41 and a strike rate of 161.23 in the ongoing IPL 2023. The right-hander feels the team’s trust in him has helped him in performing at his best.

Speaking to the official IPL social media handle, Vijay Shankar said, “It was just my mental shift.”

“Last year after IPL I realised I was carrying some injury, I was not able to bat, not able to get my bat swing. Once I did my surgery, started playing domestic and did well. So when I came here, the best part for me was the team’s trust. They gave me that feel and for me to come here and do it for the team feels really good.”

Shankar added a match-winning alliance of 123 runs for the second wicket against RCB with opener Shubman Gill, who scored a blistering knock of 104 runs. The right-hander, who scored his third IPL fifty of the ongoing season, feels they were always at par with the required run rate with Gill scoring at a brisk pace.

Speaking after the win, Shankar said of his partnership with Gill: “It was good to have that partnership because we were discussing a lot and we wanted to take it deep and I think we were always at par with the required run rate.

“I think we’ve played two three innings now, we dint have that big partnership but this was at a time when we needed to get that partnership and we got it and we eventually won it,” he added.

GT will take on Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday.