I learnt a lot from Dhoni: Vijay

With 482 runs in four Tests, opener M. Vijay was one of India’s stand-out performers down under. The in-form batsman is now back in India and is set to bolster Tamil Nadu’s batting ahead of its Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai.

Excerpts from a media interaction:

On the overall performance in Australia: Good experience and a good learning curve. We are improving and it’s a good sign. The bowlers gave it all and the effort was there. We didn’t seize the moments and we dropped some catches.

On how different it was in Australia as compared to England: In England it’s tougher. The ball swings throughout the day. In Australia you can get runs. Except Brisbane and Melbourne the other pitches were more spin-oriented. But still I could have played better in England.

On the most difficult bowler he faced: Ryan Harris. He was very consistent. Mitchell Johnson is a top bowler too but I found Harris more difficult to deal with.

On M.S. Dhoni’s retirement: Felt bad. Personally I have been inspired by him. As a player not many have inspired me. It was great to play with him for CSK (Chennai Super Kings) for five years and then the Indian team. I learnt a lot.

On Shikhar Dhawan’s patchy form: He is a terrific player. It’s not that he isn’t batting well. He is getting starts. His class is permanent and we are all waiting for a big knock from him.