Vijay Shankar has made a decent start to his international career.

He might not have got a chance had India fielded a full-strength side for the Nidahas Trophy, but in the absence of some of the regular players, he has been given a go and he has delivered.

In the first match of the Twenty20 International tournament, against Sri Lanka, he returned 0/15 from two overs and didn’t get a chance to bat, while against Bangladesh, he still didn’t get a bat but returned 2/32 from his four overs. The wickets were those of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah. Had Suresh Raina held on to a straightforward chance at mid-off, he might have had a third wicket, that of Liton Das, the top scorer for Bangladesh with 34.

As far as Shankar is concerned, comparisons with Hardik Pandya, the first-choice fast-bowling all-rounder, are pointless. He just wants to take his opportunities and push his case.

“For me, what is more important is what I do every day. Even in the nets, it is important for me to get better and better every day,” said Shankar, 27, after the match. “Most cricketers don’t like comparing ourselves with other cricketers but it is very important for us to show what we have and enjoy ourselves so that we can give our best rather than putting ourselves under pressure.

“The team management gave us all the freedom and they asked us to just express ourselves which is very important, because the pressure is going to be there every time, and if we enjoy the pressure, I think we can do really well there.”

For a while, it looked like Shankar would have to wait another day for his first international wicket – before Raina’s miss, a leading edge from Rahim had carried over the infield, and then Washington Sundar put down a tough chance at deep square-leg off Das. All in one over, Shankar’s first of the evening.

“Obviously I would have loved to get that first wicket so early but still as cricketers we all know that it is not that easy to field under lights,” he said. “I definitely didn’t give much importance to that – it was very important for me to go back and bowl the next ball.”

It was a good bowling performance from Shankar against Bangladesh, during which he bowled 11 dot balls, but he also bowled three wides and two no balls.

“I think most of the extras were very marginal – when we tried a wide yorker, it was just over the line and obviously the line belongs to the umpire,” he argued. “As bowlers, we can take that one extra yard to try ourselves, most of the time the batsmen don’t leave, they’ll try and go after the ball and most of the time it hits the bat.”

Stressing on the importance of sticking to his routines and keeping his side of the bargain, Shankar set his targets higher, beyond just the current series.

“I feel this is just the start for me. The constant thing is just keep improving,” he said. “I feel the biggest strength that I have is being calm and taking every game equally, each and every game seriously, and playing with good intent.”

He will get his next chance to impress when India face Sri Lanka in the fourth match of the competition next Monday.