Indian cricketer Hanuma Vihari was literally heartbroken when his name failed to appear on the national selectors’ radar. The batting all-rounder was last seen donning the Test jersey in July 2022, with his last Test appearance coming against England. Since then, he has been out of the Test scheme of things. Amidst the current setbacks, the veteran has still kept his hopes high as he is planning to make a comeback.
The 30-year-old Kakinada-born has played 16 Tests for Team India, wherein he tried his maximum best to score runs in the middle-order. Overall, he has accumulated 839 runs at an average of 33.6 including 1 century and 5 fifties, registering his personal best score of 111. Notably, he was a member of India that won the historic Test series in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 campaigns.
Hanuma Vihari breaks his silence after losing his spot in the Test team
During a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo, he opened up that he was upset and disappointed that he is not in the current Test set-up. Nevertheless, he wants to make a rebound into the Test team by letting his bat do the talking in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament, which he reckons is the only way to grab the attention of the selectors. Right now, he is very much focused on maintaining good form for Andhra Pradesh.
It is worth noting that Vihari has been in good form for Andhra Pradesh wherein he garnered 365 runs in 7 innings. “I do feel sad and disappointed that I am not in the Test team, but everyone goes through ups and downs, and my job now is to score runs in the Ranji Trophy. The season has gone all right, both for the team and for me. So the ambition is to score a lot of runs and try to return to the Test team,” Vihari added.
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Furthermore, he stated that nobody has been in touch with him recently except for head coach Rahul Dravid who spoke to him after his last Test match against England. “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, but no, I haven’t been in touch with anyone since then. I am at a stage where I have no expectations. I give my best each time I bat and then whatever happens will happen,” Vihari stated.