‘Rahul Dravid did speak to me…’- Hanuma Vihari on being dropped from the Indian side
There have been a lot of players that have represented India in Test matches for a long time and have gone on to do big things in the future. The names of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are some of the players who have gone on from being young prodigies to legends of the game. However, there are still some players who have not been able to find much success in these games.
Many players start as promising prospects but do not go on to become permanent members of the Test side. These players have been unlucky to have gotten the opportunity and failed to perform consistently or even after performing was sidelined to make place for some other players in the ranks.
One of these players is Hanuma Vihari who was one of the players who made his place in the team after an impressive performance in First class cricket. Vihari has not been part of the Test side for the last two years and has only been seen in the Ranji Trophy playing for Andhra Pradesh.
He was having a decent run in Test cricket for India where he had scored 839 runs in his 16 Test matches and was averaging over 33. Vihari was batting at different positions and was even chosen as the makeshift opener in place of Rohit Sharma as well. He is mostly known for his game-saving knock in the Sydney Test in the Australia series.
Vihari on Rahul Dravid
Some people feel that it was harsh of the selectors to be dropping Vihari from the Test side even after some good performances. He is playing some great knocks in the Ranji Trophy, but we would not mind seeing him play for India again. Vihari is averaging over 50 in First class even now, but he doesn’t seem to have a place in the national team any more. While speaking on being dropped by the side the 30-year-old batter has recalled that Rahul Dravid was the only man to talk to him after his last Test match saying “ No one has spoken to me recently, but Rahul Dravid did speak to me after my last Test, and he told me what I can improve on.”
Vihari still has aspirations of playing for the national side and will be looking to score a lot of runs in the Ranji Trophy. We would like to see Vihari back in the side who seemed like a natural Test match batter, who had great technique. We still liked the fact that Rahul Dravid being a dependable mentor which he is known for still has a conversation with the batter after he has been dropped. Vihari deserves a happy ending to his Test career and we would like to see him back in action and redeem himself in the national side.
