{"id":11675,"date":"2026-05-23T02:42:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T02:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/vijay-shankars-75-day-shock-from-world-cup-setback-to-sudden-retirement"},"modified":"2026-05-23T02:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T02:42:34","slug":"vijay-shankars-75-day-shock-from-world-cup-setback-to-sudden-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/vijay-shankars-75-day-shock-from-world-cup-setback-to-sudden-retirement","title":{"rendered":"Vijay Shankar\u2019s 75-day shock: from World Cup setback to sudden retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vijay Shankar\u2019s retirement message caught many people off guard. Not because it was completely unexpected, but because the 35-year-old had slipped out of everyday headlines. The \u201c3D cricketer\u201d \u2014 a tag he used with a hint of humour in his own statement \u2014 last featured in competitive cricket just five months earlier, in January.<\/p>\n

At that stage, Shankar looked anything but finished. Moving from Tamil Nadu to represent Tripura, he made a statement with an unbeaten 151, reminding observers that his talent still carried weight. Yet even that promising domestic burst could not change the reality that his international story had already reached its end.<\/p>\n

From promise to public fade-out<\/h3>\n

Shankar was never the textbook kind of all-rounder for India. He did not fit the \u201cready-made\u201d mould in terms of athleticism, he lacked genuine pace, and his batting was never viewed as a standout strength. Still, there was a sincerity to the way he approached the game \u2014 earnestness rather than flash \u2014 and that made his sudden disappearance from the bigger stage feel even more abrupt.<\/p>\n

The most unsettled part of his career came in the summer of 2019. On April 16, then chief selector MSK Prasad surprised the cricket world by naming Shankar in India\u2019s 15-man squad for the World Cup. By July 1, both his World Cup campaign and his place in India\u2019s plans had effectively run out.<\/p>\n

To understand how that happened in barely 75-plus days, it helps to rewind six years. During the Virat Kohli captaincy era, Indian cricket reached heights, but one recurring criticism was the lack of clear communication around roles. Yuvraj Singh later shared that around 2017 he did not receive clarity on where he stood. He also said MS Dhoni had told him plainly that neither the captain nor the coach saw him as part of India\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Shankar, in many ways, became another victim of that same confusion.<\/p>\n

The No. 4 search that kept changing<\/h3>\n

After Yuvraj\u2019s exit, the No. 4 slot became one of the most debated spots in Indian cricket. Ahead of the World Cup, India experimented with as many as 11 candidates following the 2017 Champions Trophy, with names like Kedar Jadhav, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik all getting looks.<\/p>\n

Yet the longest rope was extended to Ambati Rayudu. Kohli had effectively treated him as the primary bet for the No. 4 position. Rayudu\u2019s ODI standing was reinforced when he was recalled to the national setup after two years during India\u2019s triumphant Asia Cup campaign in 2018.<\/p>\n

From that point until India\u2019s final match before the World Cup, Rayudu played 20 innings at No. 4. In those outings, he amassed 464 runs at an average of 42.18 and a strike rate of 85.60, including a century and two fifties.<\/p>\n

Then, on selection day, Rayudu was left out and Shankar was brought in instead. Shankar\u2019s recent IPL contribution \u2014 244 runs and only one wicket for Sunrisers Hyderabad \u2014 is often cited as part of the reason the call was so shocking. The question of why Prasad chose Shankar over Rayudu remains one of the biggest selection talking points in Indian cricket, and Rayudu\u2019s public outburst only intensified the debate further.<\/p>\n

At a glance<\/h3>\n