Team India's Vijay Shankar had been a part of the 2019 World Cup squad, and his inclusion in the squad caused quite a furore on social media -- majorly due to the omission of Ambati Rayudu. The batter let his frustration known on Twitter and even announced his international retirement in days after the team was announced.
Shankar was touted as a three-dimensional player for the World Cup by the selection committee under MSK Prasad. Taking a dig at the same, Rayudu had posted a cryptic tweet "Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup" before announcing his retirement later.
Now, Shankar, who has been sidelined after being marred by injuries and below par performances, has remembered that particular phase of his career. Pitched as a terrific player in the 2019 World Cup, he couldn't live up to the expectations in the tournament before being ruled out due to toe injury. In an interaction with Sportstar, Shankar shared how the online trolling and adverse social media posts during that phase affected him.
"It was very difficult initially. It is very easy to say that you should just ignore those noises, but it is not possible. With social media around, you tend to read everything, it goes into your mind. Those days, I must say, made me stronger. I have seen things happening to MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and all the top players - people don’t even spare them," said Shankar.
{{/usCountry}}"It was very difficult initially. It is very easy to say that you should just ignore those noises, but it is not possible. With social media around, you tend to read everything, it goes into your mind. Those days, I must say, made me stronger. I have seen things happening to MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and all the top players - people don’t even spare them," said Shankar.
{{/usCountry}}"People appreciate them when things are going fine, but come hard at them in tough times. People who go through it know how difficult it is. I started thinking about what best I could do and not think about other stuff," he added.
However, it seems the 31-year-old has certainly left the past behind him as he is doing well in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. He has scored 201 runs in four matches at an average of 40.20, including one fifty and a century.