‘Was approached for county when went unsold’

When he went unsold on the first day of the IPL auctions, Murali Vijay suddenly started getting calls to play in English county just like other Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma.

However on the second day, he was back ‘home’ with Chennai Super Kings picking him late in the day and the opener recalled it with a hearty laugh. “A lot of people approached me especially after the first day of the IPL auctions when I went unsold (starts laughing),” Vijay fondly recalled during a promotional event.

The question was asked in the context whether he would like to play county cricket before the England series.

“As for the county stint, there are a lot of procedures involved and we have to wait. There is a lot of time before the England and Australia assignments. Being a professional, I am confident of making the necessary adjustments and put up a better show on those two tours,” he added.

Vijay, who was part of the CSK before moving on to play for other teams including Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab, said it was nice to be back at the Chennai franchise and ‘felt blessed.’ “It is a fantastic opportunity for me to be back with CSK. I feel blessed to be picked by CSK. One good thing about CSK is that every individual puts the team’s interests ahead of his own. It’s important in franchise cricket for the overseas players and local players to strike right rapport and pull in the same direction. We would want to carry that into this year as well and play with fun and flair,” Vijay said.

As the discussions veered towards India’s performance in South Africa, Vijay felt that the Virat Kohli-led team did well but certainly there is room for improvement.