In a shot in the arm for Tamil Nadu, India opener Murali Vijay and all-rounder Washington Sundar joined their limited overs squad for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
While Vijay has flown back to India after enjoying a prolific debut season in the English County Championship with Essex, Sundar has recovered from the leg injury sustained during a training session ahead of the India-England T20I series.
Tamil Nadu, currently at No. 5 in the Group C standings, are certain to include both Vijay and Sundar in their playing XI for their next match against Tripura on Wednesday.
The remaining four matches are not only crucial for Tamil Nadu to stand a chance to make it to the knock out stages of the tournament, but they will also provide an ideal opportunity to both Vijay and Sundar to claim their respective spots back in the Indian side.
Vijay has already shown signs of improvement by amassing 337 runs in just three County matches for Essex after being axed from the Indian Test side. Vijay was replaced by rookie Prithvi Shaw in the Indian Test side for the final two Test matches in England and the 18-year-old hold managed to hold onto his spot for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies and Maynka Agarwal earned his maiden India call-up as the Indian selectors gave first signs of looking beyond Vijay and Dhawan.
However, Vijay’s experience and current form will always keep him in contention when the Indian Test side gets selected for the Australia series.
Sundar, on the other hand, will look to reclaim his spot back in the limited overs side. The off-spinner, who is also a handy left-handed bat, made a name for him in Nidahaas Trophy T20 tri-series, forcing his way into both the ODI and T20I squads for the England tour. However, an injury ahead of the series ruled him out.