Hanuma Vihari is undoubtedly one of the promising young talents of Indian cricket and his performances in the red-ball cricket have taken his popularity to a whole new level. However, Vihari was left stunned when none of the eight teams picked him up in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
The 26-year-old cricketer from Andhra Pradesh has finally broken his silence on the snub and noted that he was left heartbroken when he did not find any takers.
Vihari also confessed that he loves to play the game and whenever he gets the chance, he tries to participate in the sport in whatever capacity he can. He also explained that a person can only do those things which are in his or her’s control and doesn’t really think about an IPL contract.
“I don’t really think about an IPL contract, why am I not getting picked. You can only do those things that are in your control. I don’t really know what is ‘IPL-qualified’ batting,” Vihari said.
“But I will not change my game, because I bat for my team. And I only think about the team I am playing for and bat accordingly,” added Vihari.
The right-hand batsman started his IPL journey in 2013 with Sunrisers Hyderabad. His moment of glory came in a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) where he removed Chris Gayle for just 1 and played a superb unbeaten knock of 46 in the same match while chasing. In IPL’s 2019 edition, Vihari was picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 2 crores but ended up playing just two games for the franchise.
In total, Vihari has scored just 284 runs in 24 IPL games at an average of just 14. He has no half-century to his name.
But Vihari’s focus is on the upcoming Test series against the likes of New Zealand, England, Australia, and South Africa. The Indian Cricket Team will be traveling to all these nations next year. The batsman believes that he is ready for the challenges and will look to make his game better for the swinging conditions in England.
The test series between New Zealand and India will start from February 21 at Basin Reserve in Wellington while the second and last Test will be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
