Never doubted Vijay’s commitment: Kanitkar

“I know Vijay has always played with commitment for the state. Since he just came back from an overseas assignment, he needed to take a bit of treatment for a niggle. He had something to do with his shoulder. I don’t know what exactly it is but he needs treatment on and off,” said Kanitkar. Kanitkar said he was not aware of the TNCA’s decision to drop Vijay. 

“I was not informed by the TNCA about the decision to drop Vijay. It was a decision probably taken by the selectors. Vijay had told me on the morning of the match that he wouldn’t be able to play. I think there was some communication gap with the association. I knew about it before coming to the ground. Even during the Ranji Trophy match against Tripura earlier this season he opted out on the morning of the match with a neck sprain. But on that occasion he came to the ground to get it treated,” added the 43-year-old. 

The former India player felt that the team’s rhythm will not be affected despite Vijay and R Ashwin leaving midway through the course of any tournament. “Both these players coming and leaving shouldn’t affect the team’s combination since every domestic team consisting of players who play for the country faces the same problem. We are no different in that regard,” opined Kanitkar. 

Kanitkar, however, was saddened by TN’s reign as defending champion ending with a defeat to Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Friday. 

“I’m very disappointed with the defeat. I thought 302 was a par score. It was a good wicket to bat on. We should have bowled better. Today we were conceding consistent boundaries. That will release the pressure on the batsmen. We also missed a couple of catches. When you are defending a target, you can’t defend by just bowling well. You need to take wickets. And we failed on that count,” lamented Kanitkar.