Murali Vijay, a former Indian cricket player, looked back on his early career and recalled that his debut in Tamil Nadu was the most important turning point. He claimed that as soon as he got his state cap, he felt genuinely accomplished. But things weren’t going well at first; Murali Vijay had four ducks in the Under-22s, which caused him to wonder if he belonged in the professional ranks.
The opening batsman even requested that selectors drop him at one point because he thought the bar was too high for him at that point. Murali Vijay, however, gained a reputation for turning beginnings into significant scores over time. His massive 462-run opening combination with Abhinav Mukund, which set the stage for his Test debut in 2008–09 as Gautam Gambhir’s replacement, is one of his most memorable knocks.
“Playing for Tamil Nadu has been the greatest accomplishment of my career. For me, receiving the cap was something different, and I felt proud of myself. I thought I had finally succeeded. After playing under 22 and receiving four ducks, I thought this level was too difficult for me. I was not exposed to the professional level of cricket and I did not play. I therefore had a terrible first experience with it.
On Taruwar Kohli’s YouTube channel, Murali Vijay stated, “I went and told the selectors, please drop me and give somebody else a chance.”
During Australia’s 2012–13 tour of India, Murali Vijay was finally given a complete Test series. He took advantage of the chance to score back-to-back 150s and made history. He was soon selected as India’s first-choice opener in the 2014–15 Test series in Australia due to his consistency, and he ended up being the team’s second-highest run scorer, only surpassed by Virat Kohli.
In 2023, he declared his retirement from all international cricket competitions. Murali Vijay international career started in 2008 when he took Gambhir’s position in India’s starting eleven for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy final Test in Nagpur. He played for India in 87 international matches in all forms during his career, including 61 Tests, 17 ODIs, and 9 T20Is.
The last time Vijay played for India was in Perth in 2018 against Australia. In late 2019, he made his final first-class and List-A outings for Tamil Nadu. In September 2020, he made his final professional game in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Vijay scored 12 hundreds and 16 half-centuries while amassing 4,490 runs at an average of 34.80 and a strike rate of 48.48 in his 87 international games. In 106 IPL games, he also amassed 2,619 runs at an average of 25.93.
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