Sympathy not helping: Vijay

The allrounder doesn’t seek sympathy for getting lambasted on social media

NEW DELHI: Sympathy, however well-meaning, can at times add to misery -- something that Vijay Shankar is dealing with as he tries to move on from a "disheartening" off day that nearly cost India the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh.

While Dinesh Karthik became the toast of the nation with a last ball six in India's triumph over the South Asian rivals, the 27-year-old Shankar was lambasted for his 19-ball17 that included four successive dot balls in the 18th over.

"My parents and close friends didn't say anything as they knew what I was going through. But I get these text messages like 'don't worry about what's being said on social media', when I actually I want to move on. They perhaps think that's the way to show sympathy but it may not work," the all-rounder said during an while trying to chart his own destiny.

"Had I got out for a second or a third ball duck, no one would have bothered about my performance. But then would I have liked that to happen? Certainly not. I would rather accept this situation.

"You just can't think of safe options always. You have to accept challenges head on," Shankar said.

But he does accept that it was a missed opportunity to become a hero in a tricky chase.

"When everyone was rejoicing after the final, I was feeling very disheartened at how things panned out. It was an opportunity given to me to become a hero. I should have finished the match," the Delhi Daredevil allrounder said.

"Everyone in the team, including my captain (Rohit Sharma) and coach (Ravi Shas- tri), told me that it can even happen with the best and I shouldn't feel bad," he said.

Asked about the mistake that he made, Shankar pointed to his attempts to go for big hits rather than rotating the strike.

"If you take a look at my batting in the Syed Mushtaq Ali or Vijay Hazare Trophy, I don't play so many dot balls. I rotate the strike but Mustafizur (Rahman) really bowled well during that over," he said.

While everyone spoke about the dot balls, hardly anyone noticed his boundary bisecting the point and short third man, which made it easy for Karthik to launch a final assault.

"DK just told me one thing -- hold your shape (in cricketing parlance maintaining the balance in one's stance) and hit a boundary. That ball from Soumya, I was trying to just put bat on ball," he said.