Former Indian cricketer Murali Vijay took a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about his early days in cricket. He described his debut for Tamil Nadu as the highlight of his career, a moment that truly made him feel accomplished when he received his state cap. But the journey wasn’t all smooth sailing; he faced a tough start, recording four ducks in the Under-22s, which led him to question if he was cut out for the professional game. At one point, the opening batter even asked the selectors to drop him, feeling the competition was just too fierce for him at that time. However, as time went on, Vijay earned a reputation for turning promising starts into significant scores. One of his standout performances was during a massive 462-run opening partnership with Abhinav Mukund, which ultimately set the stage for his Test debut in 2008-09, stepping in for Gautam Gambhir. Here is what Vijay said on Taruwar Kohli’s YouTube channel “It’s the biggest achievement I’ve ever had playing for Tamil Nadu. When the cap came to me, that was something else for me, and I felt a sense of accomplishment. I felt I finally made it. So I played under 22 and got four ducks, and I felt like this level is too high for me. I didn’t play, I didn’t get exposed to the professional level of cricket. So, the first time I got it was a disaster for me. I went and told the selectors, please drop me and give somebody else a chance,” Read also: Top 5 sledging moments in the Ashes series history Vijay finally got a full Test series during Australia’s tour of India in 2012-13, and he seized the moment, scoring back-to-back 150s. His impressive consistency soon secured him the position of India’s first-choice opener in the 2014-15 Test series in Australia, where he finished as the team’s second-highest run-scorer, just behind Virat Kohli. From Debut to Retirement: Murali Vijay’s Cricket Story He announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in 2023. Vijay’s international career kicked off in 2008 when he replaced Gambhir in India’s lineup for the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur. Throughout his career, he represented India in 87 international matches across all formats: 61 Tests, 17 ODIs, and 9 T20Is. His last appearance for India was in 2018 against Australia in Perth. He played his final first-class and List-A matches for Tamil Nadu in late 2019, with his last professional game being in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in September 2020. Over his 87 international matches, Vijay scored 4,490 runs at an average of 34.80 and a strike rate of 48.48, including 12 centuries and 16 half-centuries. He also accumulated 2,619 runs in 106 IPL matches at an average of 25.93.