Murali Vijay is a right-handed opening batsman for India in international cricket. He was picked to tour with the national team as a reserve batsman due to his ability to convert opening overs into major partnerships in domestic cricket. He took advantage of every chance to shine when filling in for regular top-order batsmen, and he finally earned a place in the national team.In all three formats, he has been a regular member of the Indian side, but he has not been able to perform regularly. Despite this, he has shown his hard-hitting abilities by scoring two centuries for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He was a part of the team’s victories in two IPL seasons and one Champions League T20 series during his six years with them. He was later sold to the Delhi Daredevils and then to Kings XI Punjab, but he has now returned to his former club.
Childhood and Adolescence
Murali Vijay was born on April 1, 1984, into a well-educated family in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Murali, his father, is a businessman, and Lakshmi, his mother, is a housewife. Vidya, his younger sibling, excelled academically and went on to work for Google in the United States.
Vijay was not interested in ‘bookish wisdom’ as a teen, despite his family’s heritage. He failed his 12th-grade tests, while his sister earned a 98 percent. He then left home to ‘find’ himself and started playing snooker for money in snooker parlours. He also became a partner in a business.
When Vijay was homeless and sleeping in parks, he had a lot of older college-aged friends who helped him out. For six months, he shared a bedless hostel room with others. He enrolled in Vivekananda College in Mylapore, Chennai, after passing the board exam, which was known for promoting sports, especially cricket. He had been playing cricket since he was nine years old, so it was just what he wanted.
Vijay began concentrating on college cricket at the age of 17, despite failing to make the U-19 state side. It was here that he first tried his hand at playing with a leather ball. Former national bowling coach Bharat Arun noticed him and gave him a place on the Chemplast squad in Chennai’s club cricket league.
Career In Domestic
Murali Vijay was called in to replace banned Gautam Gambhir in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November 2008, thanks to his huge 462-run opening partnership with Abhinav Mukund in the Ranji Trophy. Vijay scored 33 and 40 in his opening partnership with Virender Sehwag, for a total of 98 and 116 runs. He also demonstrated his fielding abilities, recording two run-outs and a catch.
He was named to the Indian ODI squad for the first three matches against the touring England side, but due to Sachin Tendulkar’s return from a break, he did not get to play. Gambhir’s next Test opportunity came in December 2009, during the third Test against Sri Lanka, when he was on leave. Vijay had a 221-run partnership with Sehwag, but he was dismissed on 87.
He went on tour with the Indian team as a backup batsman, and his next chances came in Bangladesh and South Africa, where he replaced injured V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid. In October 2010, he came in for an injured Gambhir in the second Test against Australia, where he scored his first Test century. He had a 139-run partnership with Tendulkar, including a triple century. Despite the injury, he was cut from the team.
IPL Career
Murali Vijay was a member of the Chennai Super Kings for the first six seasons of the IPL, and his 56-ball-127 and 52-ball-95 helped the team secure two consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011. He was also the team’s leading scorer during their successful Champions League T20 campaign in South Africa. In an IPL match in Chennai a year back, he hit a 59-ball 113 against the Delhi Daredevils.
Career In Internationals
In the home series against Australia in 2013, he substituted an out-of-form Gautam Gambhir. He hit his second Test century (167) and shared a record second-wicket partnership of 370 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara in the second Test. It was followed by a 289-run opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan, which included Vijay’s second 150+ score in a row (153). With 430 runs, including a half-century, he finished the series as the series’ leading run scorer.
He scored his first overseas century at Trent Bridge in July 2014, during India’s tour of England. He was out on 95 at Lord’s, but he still finished with 402 runs to lead the series. Later that year, he scored a vital 99 and put on a 185-run partnership with his captain, Virat Kohli, during India’s tour of Australia. The next match ended with a score of 144.
Vijay scored his sixth Test century against Bangladesh in a one-match Test series in June 2015. In April 2016, Vijay took over as captain of Kings XI Punjab, replacing David Miller in the middle of the season.
Vijay scored 108 runs in the first Test inning against Bangladesh in February 2017, taking India’s total to 388. India won the match by 208 runs with a total score of 687.
Due to a wrist injury, Vijay was not picked for the Sri Lanka Test series in July 2017. Vijay returned to Chennai Super Kings in 2018.
He was chosen for the England Test series, but he was dropped after just two matches. For the 2018 county season, the Indian opener has agreed to join Essex.
In the Specsavers County Championship, Vijay scored a century against Nottinghamshire, helping Essex to their fifth victory in the series. In both innings, he scored 56 and 100 points.
In 2018, there was some back-and-forth between him and the BCCI after he publicly stated that he was having “contact problems” with Indian selectors. He was, however, picked for the Australia Test series later on.