Murali Vijay to play first division league game to test fitness ahead of Sri Lanka series

What's the story?

Indian opener Murali Vijay is set to play his first competitive match since his return from injury when he turns up for TNCA first division giants Jolly Rovers against Young Stars in a TNCA first division league match at the SSN College grounds in the outskirts of Chennai.

In an exclusive interview with Times of India, the right-hander confirmed the news and revealed that his priority is to stay at the crease for a long time and score a big hundred.

"Yes, I will be playing the match. I'm looking forward to batting. My priority is to stay at the crease as long as possible and maybe score a big hundred as well," Vijay said.

In case you didn't know...

After the four-match Test series against Australia in March, Vijay underwent a wrist surgery in England and missed the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Extra cover: Murali Vijay reveals why he chose upcoming Test series over IPL 2017

After the surgery, he had his rehab with trainer Rajini in Chennai and went to NCA for medical assessment last month, where he was cleared to take the field again.

Details

In the meantime, Vijay hardly had a hit in the nets as the opener himself admitted that he had just four net sessions in the last two months, which includes a few basic drills and playing underarm stuff with tennis balls.

With a fit-again Vijay being named in the Test squad to face Sri Lanka in a three-Test series later this month, he wants to test his match fitness before the Indian team travels across the Indian Ocean for the series and has decided to take part in the league game that gets underway today.

What's next?

India's 16-member squad to tour Sri Lanka has been announced earlier this week and it includes the likes of Murali Vijay, KL Rahul (missed the IPL and Champions Trophy due to a shoulder surgery), Rohit Sharma (missed the last 10 Tests due to a hamstring injury) and Hardik Pandya (missed the series against Australia due to a shoulder injury).

The three-match Test series against Sri Lanka begins in Galle on July 26.

Author's Take

Vijay is an integral part of the Indian Test team as he is as important as skipper Virat Kohli when it comes to the longer format. After undergoing a wrist surgery, the right-hander didn't have enough match practice to test his fitness and it's good to see him playing a first division league match to test how well his body is responding before a long season.