VIHARI RIDES ON RANJI, IRANI PERFORMANCES TO MAKE CUT

MUMBAI/DELHI: Hanuma Vihari, who was included in India’s squad for the remaining two Tests against England, is a quintessential old school batsman who loves to bat for hours on end without trying anything fancy.

Known for daddy hundreds in domestic cricket, Vihari’s selection in the national team comes on the back of a purple patch he has enjoyed in recent times.

“It’s just the consistent performances from the last 4-5 years (that helped). Because I don’t have the Indian Premier League contract which other players have to get into limelight, playing domestic cricket was the only way I could get into the Indian team. That said, I knew I needed to be consistent,” said Vihari.

The 24-year old, who became the first player from Andhra in over 18 years to be selected to the Indian Test squad (after current selection committee chief and former Andhra wicketkeeper MSK Prasad represented India in 1999-2000), was among the leading run scorers in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season, amassing 752 runs in six matches at a staggering average of 94.

Vihari continued his good form in the Irani Trophy where he made a 327-ball 183 for Rest of India (ROI) against Ranji champions Vidarbha. His prolific run in domestic cricket earned him a place in India ‘A’ squad. In his most recent first-class game against South Africa ‘A’ in Bengaluru, he hit a match-winning 148.