The Indian selection committee headed by MSK Prasad has named Hanuma Vihari and Prithvi Shaw in the Indian squad for the remaining two Tests of the 5-match series against England on Wednesday and the chief selector expressed that both the players deserved the chance.
Talking about the inclusion of Shaw and Vihari and also about the exclusion of Mayank Agarwal, Prasad said, “They have come up with a comprehensive performance. So, they deserve it for being consistent. Mayank, Prithvi, and Hanuma are performing regularly. Sooner or later everybody will get into the side because all of them have been very consistent.”
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Vihari, the batsman from Andhra Pradesh is the second cricketer from the state, after Prasad to break into the Test squad. Talking about the same, MSK said that he is happy to see the seasoned cricketer making his mark. He explained, “It is a wonderful thing. He deserves the opportunity. His performance speaks for itself.”
It has been learned that the national selectors and the team management feel that in English conditions, it would be wise to try out another young batsman and that’s was one of the crucial reasons they selected Vihari and Shaw as they have played in those conditions, just a month back.
The young batsman’s talent can also be judged on the basis of the fact that currently, he has the highest first-class average amongst all active cricketers in the world, that of 59.79. In comparison, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara average 54.58 and 53.86 respectively, even the banned Australian cricketer Steve Smith has an average of 57.35.
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Shaw led India U-19 to the World Cup title in February, he also amassed 1418 runs in 14 first-class games. Vihari, a member of India’s U-19 World Cup winning side in 2012, has scored 5142 runs in 63 first-class matches.
Vihari’s talent can also be judged on the basis of the fact that currently, he has the highest first-class average amongst all active cricketers in the world, that of 59.79. In comparison, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara average 54.58 and 53.86 respectively, even the banned Australian cricketer Steve Smith has an average of 57.35.
