A call that changed Andhra cricketer Hanuma Vihari's world

HYDERABAD: Thousands of cricketers hit the fields every day with hopes of making it to the hallowed dressing room of the Indian team. Andhra skipper Hanuma Vihari had just returned from a practice session when he learned that he had been summoned to England to be a part of the national squad for the fourth and fifth Tests. This information sent him, quite obviously, ‘over the moon.’

Vihari, along with teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw, has been drafted in at the expense of struggling opener Murali Vijay and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. The former Hyderabad player was sweating out in preparation for the quadrangular series featuring India A, India B, South Africa A and Australia A when his team manager came calling.

“I had just finished my practice session when I got to know about the selection. I was over the moon, and surprised because I was not aware that the squad would be announced today. The first thing I did was call my mom. She is so happy,” an excited Vihari told Express.

A string of good scores in the recent past against the South Africa A, West Indies A and England Lions might have prompted the selectors to pick the 24-year-old. The right-hand batsman has been scoring heavily, averaging 59.79 in 63 first-class matches.

The batsman, who is also a handy off-spinner, had moved to Andhra in the 2016-17 season, a decision he partly credits for getting the India call.“At this moment, I can say that moving to Andhra has been really beneficial for me. At the same time, I would like to say that I will always be grateful to Hyderabad where I got a first-class debut at the tender age of 16,” Vihari said.

The fact that some of his recent performances — 147 against West Indies A, 69 against the Lions — came in England, shows his calibre when faced with testing conditions. If he gets the cap in the upcoming Test, he might be able to consolidate the batting line-up.

“It is all about the mindset there. I could score because I left a lot of deliveries alone. More than the technique, it is about how you think in the middle. You have to be very disciplined,” he said of his knocks.
Always calm and collected, Vihari is looking forward to take it all in. “I will leave for England in a day or two. Right now, my sole objective is to contribute in any way possible towards the success of the team,” he signed off.

Vijay dropped, Shaw picked

The India selectors on Wednesday dropped opener Murali Vijay for the remainder of the Test series in England. Mumbai’s Prithvi Shaw was his replacement. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was also dropped, with batsman Hanuma Vihari coming in his place.

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Hanuma Vihari.

vishal.vivek@newindianexpress.com