India’s Test specialist Hanuma Vihari, who had left Hyderabad to play for Andhra to further his international prospects, is back “home” after five seasons for the upcoming domestic season.
Vihari, pupil of India’s fielding coach R Sridhar had left Hyderabad in the 2015-16 season after MSK Prasad, the then chairman of selectors had offered him Andhra captaincy and also pushed his selection in the traditional format.
However now with Hyderabad Cricket Association being run by former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin, Vihari will be seen donning the Hyderabad jersey once again.
The 27-year-old himself announced the decision from his official Twitter handle
“I am taking this opportunity to inform everyone that I am parting ways with Andhra cricket association on good terms. I have had the privilege to captain and represent Andhra for the past 5 years,” Vihari wrote in a small note, which he shared on Twitter.
“I will be a part of Hyderabad cricket association from the coming season,” he further announced.
For the record, the right-handed batsman, who has played 94 first-class games scoring 7261 runs with 21 hundreds and an average of 55. He also played 80 List A games in which he has 3001 runs.
It can be said that former India skipper Azharuddin being the president Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) would have played a big role in Vihari deciding on this career move of his.
There is a good chance that Vihari will now lead Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy in the upcoming season if he is not selected for India’s tour of South Africa in December-January. Before that he will certainly play Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare One Day meet.
The middle-order batsman thanked the Andhra Cricket Association office-bearers for their support.
‘We have blossomed into a team that we can be proud of and I herby thank all my teammates, coaches and office bearers of the Association for the constant support,’ he further wrote.
Vihari was one of the heroes of the Sydney Test of the 2020-21 Australia tour, has played 12 Tests and scored 624 runs, with 111 as his highest score. He made his Test debut against England at ‘The Oval’ in 2018.
