It is said that two is company, but three is crowd, but Indian Test opener Murali Vijay begs to differ. With local boy Shikhar Dhawan back after a short leave ahead of the third Test match against Sri Lanka in New Delhi, skipper Virat Kohli is spoilt for choices yet again. While Dhawan opened with K.L. Rahul in the first Test in Kolkata, it was Vijay and Rahul who opened in the second Test in Nagpur. It remains to be seen whether Vijay, who scored 128 in Nagpur will partner Dhawan at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday morning.
With rest and rotation being the buzz words for Team India players , the openers have by now gotten used to one of them warming the bench. Not easy by any means but according to Vijay, the trio have a very good understanding between them, and so there are no hard feelings.
“We three are very good friends off the field so it makes it much easier. Definitely, it will unsettle the opener (if a partner gets changed) but we three have a good rapport and this will help us in important series coming up in future as well,” said Vijay, ahead of the Delhi Test.
Dhawan was dropped after an inconsistent run till the series against England at home in 2016. He made a comeback to the side in the away series against Sri Lanka in July-August when Vijay was yet to recover fully from his injury. Rahul, who has a record of scoring seven Test half-centuries in a row (six against Australia and one against Sri Lanka), has been the most regular opener of the three since the last season.
The key to the three openers being a happy lot, Vijay said, was that they kept the communication channels always open between them. “We try to make things easier, lighter. We like talking about it openly than keeping it to yourself. Whatever I feel or Shikhar feels we bring it out, put it out in the open, clear it and move forward. We are basically fun-loving people, and have a good time off the field which really helps us move together as a team.”
Kohli wouldn't be complaining about this problem of plenty as he would want his three openers to be raring to go once India's tour to South Africa starts at the end of December. With no warm-up matches for the team to acclimatise themselves with the conditions in South Africa, the players will have to go in ready for Test cricket.
Sharing knowledge and information with each other is a better way to prepare, said Vijay, rather than spending time practising in South Africa, as the focus would be sharp and clear. “We have been playing Test cricket for quite some time now. Abroad, too, same team members have stuck together. It is going to be very important for us to communicate and share knowledge with each other.
“These are things I am looking forward to on this tour. These are things more important than having a hit in the middle. We should clear our heads as to what we should do. These are the aspects we have to look at. There are some fun team-building activities, too, planned.”
