India Hanuma Vihari was signed up by Warwickshire as cover for Pieter Malan after the South African faced difficulties in obtaining a visa due to travel restrictions imposed in view of the raging COVID-10 pandemic.
It was a special day for India's Test specialist Hanuma Vihari, who celebrated his first wedding anniversary, on Tuesday.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and skipper Hanuma Vihari hit a fifty each to guide India A to 229 for 6 in reply to South Africa A's 268 all out at stumps on the second day of the third unofficial Test, in Bloemfontein, on Tuesday.
It is interesting to note that both Mayank and Vihari have not lived up to the expectation
Vihari, who had kept his base price at Rs 50 lakh, found himself in the unsold bracket.
Vihari has a Grade 2 tear which has not only ruled him out of the final game, but also puts him in doubt for the England games
The IPL franchises may have turned him down but Team India's Test specialist Hanuma Vihari is all set to prepare for the six-match Test series in England later this year by competing for English county side Warwickshire.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane reveals India's game plan going into the final day of the third Test against Australia.
India's injury woes in the Test series against Australia compounded on Monday after Hanuma Vihari -- the hero of their drawn game in Sydney -- was ruled out of the fourth and final match with a hamstring tear that could keep him out of action for a considerable time.
Hanuma Vihari looks set to bat at number six in the first Day/Night Test at Adelaide.
Vihari shared a picture before departing from Australia.
'I have not played a Test at home, looking forward to it. It's great to play in front of the home crowd back in India'
Hanuma Vihari says poor shot selection led to India getting bowled out for a below-par 242 against New Zealand on a "fair pitch", in the second Test, in Christchurch, on Saturday.
Vihari said he has been preparing for the South Africa series at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Hanuma Vihari's primary skill is batting but he is now trying to sharpen his off-breaks in order to fit in as the 'fifth bowler' in India's Test set-up.
'We only felt that it has never happened before, I don't think it will ever happen again. It was a freak inning'
The art of leaving the ball and negotiating the short ball are the two aspects of his game, Hanuma Vihari is working on ahead of India's tour of Australia.
Hanuma Vihari wanted to utilise the summer months playing county cricket in England but the COVID-19 pandemic has put paid to the India all-rounder's plans for the time being.
Washington and pacer Avesh Khan, who are both set to fly back home due to injury, played for the County XI in India's only warm up game ahead of the first Test beginning August 4.
Rishabh Pant, not Hanuma Vihari, can be the next Virender Sehwag that India is looking for,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the third Test?
Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari put themselves in the reckoning for next week's first Test with contrasting hundreds as India thoroughly dominated Australia A on Day 2 of the day-night practice match, in Sydney, on Saturday.
'It helps me get into a mindset that I have nothing to lose and play accordingly.'
Hanuma Vihari dedicated his maiden Test century to his late father, keeping a promise he made to himself right after he lost one of his favourites 13 years ago. Apart from remembering his father, Vihari thanked pacer Ishant Sharma for batting, at times, better than the recognised batsman at the other end during their partnership in the second Test against the West Indies.
For Shastri, India's recent successes in Test cricket have often been defined by the stubbornness and resilience of the tail-enders.
Ashwin's legacy, marked by his intellect and dominance on the field, will resonate for years to come.
Jadeja, who suffered a concussion during the first T20 international, also sustained a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the first Test.
Ajinkya Rahane's struggles in limited-overs' cricket continued as India B comfortably beat India C by 30 runs to enter the Deodhar Trophy final, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith believe that Virat Kohli is an Australian in the way he thinks, acts, and has the desire to perform in big games.
Shubman Gill's run-a-ball 83 was the only high point for India 'A' as New Zealand 'A' grabbed the opening day honours in their first unofficial Test, in Christchurch, on Thursday. The Indians were all out for 216 in their first innings before the hosts responded strongly as they reached 105 for two at the close of play.
With an eye on the gruelling Australia series that follows the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, the Indian Tests specialists including Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari have begun preparations for the pink ball Test against Australia at the ICC Academy in Dubai, from Friday evening.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between West Indies and India, in Jamaica, on Saturday.
Hanuma Vihari remained unbeaten on 86, while Suresh Raina made a strokeful 52 as India Blue reached 216 for three in reply to India Red's 383 all out on the second day of the Duleep Trohpy match, in Kanpur on Thursday.
Hanuma Vihari said he won't mind taking up the opener's role if the team management asks after India's inexperienced opening options were technically exposed by a second-string New Zealand XI attack on the opening day of the warm-up game in Hamilton, on Friday. Coming in at No. 6, Vihari scored a hundred but Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill were dismissed early, undone by the extra bounce and seam movement during the match against New Zealand XI.
Vihari knows it will be a fight to get into the playing XI but he is ready to don the role of a finisher the same way he agreed to open for India in unfamiliar conditions in Melbourne.
Ajinkya Rahane, who has not scored a hundred in more than two years, got back among the runs with a patient innings of 54.
Former Australia wicketkeeper and captain Tim Paine doesn't regret sledging Ravichandran Ashwin during the third Test of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Fit again Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari made their way back into the Indian Test squad, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was left out for next month's IIC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match series against England.
Riding on scintillating centuries by Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari, India A scored a crushing 203-run victory over West Indies A to make the final of the Tri-Series one-day tournament, in Northampton, on Friday.
Hanuma Vihari's role as an opener is a stop-gap one and he will be given enough opportunities in his preferred middle-order spot should he fail at the top, assured chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.