‘It is a misconception that I only bat slowly’: Hanuma Vihari on being able to play according to demands of conditions

During its previous tour of West Indies, India slightly deviated from their usual five-bowler strategy that the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri combination preferred sticking to, for two reasons. With their pace bowling unit beginning to enter their prime days, they wanted to challenge them further taking the field with just three. And more importantly, they could no longer bench Hanuma Vihari, a player who had left a lasting impression on Shastri less than six months after being part of the team. “That boy, he has all the courage,” Shastri would say one evening praising Vihari for the grit he has in him.
That tour was the start of the World Test Championship cycle. Having got into the team a year back as a last-minute entry for the tour of England, Vihari’s 56 in the first innings and his willingness to open at the Boxing Day Test three months later as a stop-gap arrangement showed he had the character.
A regular member of the squad in the first WTC cycle, Vihari disappeared when the second cycle came about. Dropped for the home series against New Zealand when Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane all ended up missing a match or two, he got a look-in when Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped for the Tests against Sri Lanka. He played those two and the one-off Test in England before being dropped again.

And as another WTC cycle gets underway in the Caribbean on Wednesday, Vihari would be busy playing the Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru, where he is leading South Zone against West Zone. “Definitely, there was disappointment,” Vihari told The Indian Express about the circumstances in which he was dropped. “I didn’t find a reason why I was dropped and it was the only thing that was bothering me. Nobody really contacted me and told me the reasons why I was dropped. It took some time and I have gone through ups and downs and I’m not worried about it now. I’ve put aside my personal side of things and I don’t take too much stress about whether I’m in the Indian team or not. There are other matches to win and it is about winning the trophies,” Vihari said.
Last Saturday, soon after South Zone prevailed in a thrilling semi-final over North Zone at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Vihari was asked about the fluency with which he went about his batting in the second innings where he scored 43 off 42 deliveries. “It is a misconception that I only bat slowly,” Vihari would respond with a smile on his face. It is the perception he has been battling all along. One of the reasons that were “leaked” when Vihari was dropped from the Test squad was that the team was now looking for players who could show more intent. Without anyone mentioning it, it once again came down to strike-rate, something that Pujara had to battle with.
“Test cricket can be played in different ways and you can’t just stick to one way of playing. If you take the last match (semifinals) for instance, it was an opportunity to show different skill sets that a batsman requires to play all three formats. Test cricket allows you to show that. On Day 1 and 2, there was proper line and length bowling and you had to leave those deliveries because the conditions were challenging. But when the pitch eased out and when we were chasing, you could see shades of the 50-over and 20-over game coming into play because of time constraints. That is the beauty of Test cricket, to adapt to different situations that change every now and then. It is all about having that game sense rather than just batting one way,” Vihari said.
Bengaluru: South Zone captain Hanuma Vihari (R) with teammates Mayank Agarwal (C) and Ravikumar Samarth during the first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final match between South Zone and North Zone, at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)(PTI07_05_2023_000127B)
Determination and mindset
Not the most naturally gifted players, Vihari got into the Test team thanks to his determination and mindset that allowed him to score big in domestic cricket playing for Andhra. Despite playing for a team that doesn’t compete regularly for domestic titles, Vihari has managed to stand out. Having led Andhra to a quarterfinal appearance in the Ranji Trophy, Vihari is now leading South to another Duleep Trophy final. There are indications that he would switch to Madhya Pradesh this season, but the deal is far from over.
It is a bit complex where he stands right now. “It is a bit tricky because once you are dropped from the Indian team, you are fighting to get back and I will be the first to admit that my season with Andhra wasn’t fruitful and was not up to the standards I set for myself. And yes, we played in challenging conditions, but could have still done better. I was happy with the way I led Andhra and even here. It is quite exciting to me to be part of another Duleep Trophy final,” Vihari said.
With India entering a transition phase, the door has once again opened for Vihari to have another crack at the top level. Still only 29, Vihari’s technique and temperament have hardly been an issue. Soon after the new selection panel took charge earlier this year, one of the selectors reached out to him, affirming that he is part of their plans going forward. A good outing this season is all that Vihari needs and batsmen usually tend to hit their peak between 28-33 years means, there is still plenty of hope if he goes through the domestic grind once again and comes out on top.

“It is not difficult for me at all. I’ve been playing domestic cricket for a long time now, 13 years. I’m used to this grind and I’ve been here before and have done this before. It is only a matter of time for me to get my groove back. If my mindset is right and I can put in the performances that I have done before in domestic cricket, then I know I will be able to get the scores,” Vihari added.