The talented Indian batsman Hanuma Vihari got his maiden national call-up for the Indian Test squad for the final two matches of the ongoing 5-match series against England. It was a “surreal moment” for the youngster as he alongside U-19 World Cup winning captain Prithvi Shaw were summoned into the squad. While Vihari has been included as the backup of skipper Virat Kohli, Shaw will be replacing Murali Vijay.
In Ranji Trophy, Vihari plays for Andhra Pradesh and he has been scoring ‘daddy hundreds’ in the first-class circuit across all formats. A solid technique coupled with the hunger to stay longer at the crease makes him a conventional old-school batsman who just loves to tire the bowlers. He has been considered by the national selectors for a while now with the sheer volume of runs in domestic cricket.
In 63 first-class games, Vihari has so far amassed as many as 5142 runs at an incredible average of 59.79 with 24 half-centuries and 15 tons. He made his FC debut for Hyderabad, but ever since he has been moved to the neighboring state Andhra in the 2016-17 season, there has been no looking back in his career.
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In the last season of Ranji Trophy, Hanuma has scored as many as 752 runs in just 6 matches at an unbelievable average of around 94. In that season he also scored his maiden triple century in first-class cricket against Odisha. His most recent knocks include a 54 against South Africa ‘A’ at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which he followed up with a classical 148 at Alur against the same opponent.
Vihari in an interview with CricketNext asserted that he was surprised on receiving the call but hoped he could make most of the opportunity provided to him. He said, “I was over the moon, to be honest. It is a great moment for me and my career. I got a call from India A manager that I have to leave tomorrow. It is a surreal moment for me and my family as well. One that I will cherish forever.”
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.
Talking about his hunger of scoring runs, Vihari said, “I have always had the hunger of scoring big runs but once you have that maturity and experience and exposure then you tend to have more confidence within yourself and that is what has helped me. So once I get to a hundred I will have the confidence to score a double hundred or even a triple hundred, last year which I got.”
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With the chance of rubbing shoulders with the players like Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Pujara, Vihari said that he just wanted to get a feel of Test cricket and get to know the work ethics of the senior cricketers. The experience of being in the national side is what he is looking for more than anything else.
Vihari explained, “I just want to go there with an open mind and see what I can learn from the tour. It is more about the game, more about the mindset of how you go about playing Test cricket at the higher level. So, I would love to see how they (the seniors) prepare for the matches and what their routines are and see how it helps in my game. And I am sure it will help me become a better player once I get there and take in that experience.”
Hanuma Vihari had traveled to England earlier this year with the India ‘A’ squad for the 50-over series and four-dayers where he amassed 253 runs in just three outings in the tri-series that involved West Indies ‘A’ and England ‘A’ with the highest score of 147.
In the second ‘unofficial Test’ against the ‘West Indies A’ side, Vihari’s 68 was crucial in helping India ‘A’ chase down a stiff 321-run target in the fourth innings. Talking about the performance, the youngster said, “The Duke balls definitely play differently, so you have to see off the new and make certain adjustments like that. You have to play with the mind than anything else, so it is a different challenge, one that I am looking forward to and let’s see how it goes.”
