Bhardwaj played a key role for Karnataka in one of their most successful eras in Ranji Trophy in the 1990s before a dream start for India.
Talent never guarantees success unless a person is blessed with the right environment at the right time. Batting all-rounder Vijay Bhardwaj was a rising star and had just the perfect start to his cricketing career for India. However, the instant fame and success was short lived as he found out that fortune is an equally big factor to shine and remain big in an ever-growing talent pool of youngsters in Indian cricket.
Bhardwaj played a key role for Karnataka in one of their most successful eras in Ranji Trophy in the 1990s. In a stellar team with legends like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi, Bhardwaj solidified his place as Karnataka won a hattrick of championships. He scored 1280 runs in a single season, propelling himself to the front of the list for Indian national team selection.
Wearing spectacles like his Karnataka teammate Kumble, Bhardwaj made instant impact on his debut and was catapulted to fame with the ‘Man of the Series’ award at the LG Cup in 1999 in Nairobi with 89 runs and 10 wickets in 4 games. He followed up the dream start to his international career with another impressive performance against New Zealand as he ended up as the highest wicket taker of the series. Despite a good start to his ODI career, Bhardwaj couldn’t replicate the form in Tests. After playing just 10 ODIs and 3 Test matches, his career for effectively ended by a back injury sustained on Australia tour where India was led by Sachin Tendulkar.
But that wasn’t the end of setbacks for Bhardwaj as a bigger tragedy struck when he paid heed to advice which had a horrific outcome. While recovering from his back injury, the bespectacled cricketer was advice to get his eyes operated on for better vision. However, the surgery went wrong and severely impeded his vision, so much so that it affected his ability to bat and field. He dabbled in the domestic circuit for a while before giving up on his dream. On his Twitter bio, Bhardwaj proudly writes ‘failed cricketer’.
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 "Vijay Bhardwaj, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, cricketer")
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