Golden arm that bamboozled Chris Gayle and other things to know about India's Hanuma Vihari

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  • Hanuma Vihari was recently handed an India Test call up.

    As India’s selectors announced the squad for the final two Tests against England, two new names in the list caught the eye.

    The first was that of Prithvi Shaw who has enjoyed a meteoric rise in cricket ever since he burst on to the stage with a world-record 546 in the local Harris Shield tournament as a 14-year-old.

    The second was that of Hanuma Vihari, a 24-year-old top-order batsman from the state of Andhra Pradesh.

    A prolific run-getter in the domestic circuit in recent years, Vihari’s maiden India call up has put him in the spotlight.

    Here, we take a look at some interesting facts about the talented right-hander.

    FIRST IN A LONG TIME FOR ANDHRA PRADESH

    Vihari is the first Andhra Pradesh player to be called up to the Indian squad since 1999 when current chief selector MSK Prasad made his debut.

    There have been other players from the state like the great VVS Laxman and Ambati Rayudu who have turned out for India but they all played their domestic cricket for the city of Hyderabad instead of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

    Vihari switched from Hyderabad to Andhra in the 2016/17 season.

    Vihari will be switching base to Hyderabad from the coming season.

    Vihari will be switching base to Hyderabad from the coming season.

    OUTSTANDING 2017-18 SEASON

    It was Vihari’s performance with the bat in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season that attracted the attention of the selectors. He garnered 752 runs in six innings at an average of 94 with the help of a triple ton against Odisha for Andhra.

    A knock of 183 in Rest of India’s Irani Trophy match against Vidarbha further cemented his credentials as he was called up to the India ‘A’ side to tour England. There, he scored 253 runs in three List A matches including a 147 against the West Indies A.

    His performance for India ‘A’ in their two recent first-class matches against their South African counterparts sealed the deal for Vihari. In the first match at Bengaluru, he registered a half-century before following it up with an innings of 148 in the second match at Alur.

    The top-order batsman was impressive in India A's tour of England.

    The top-order batsman was impressive in India A’s tour of England.

    UNDER-19 WORLD CUP WINNER

    Like Prithvi Shaw this year, Vihari has also been a part of a victorious Indian team at the U19 World Cup. He was a member of the Unmukt Chand-led India squad which lifted the world title in Australia in 2012.

    The batsman was not part of the initial squad and was added at the last minute after Manan Vohra suffered an injury on the eve of the team’s departure to Australia.

    Vihari is an U19 World Cup winner for India.

    Vihari is an U19 World Cup winner for India.

    WICKET OF CHRIS GAYLE IN THE IPL

    Despite his solid domestic record, Vihari has not been able to make a mark in the IPL. He has made only 22 appearances in total in the league with the last of them coming in 2015.

    His numbers in the IPL are nothing to write home about with only 280 runs in 22 innings. However, the highlight of Vihar’s IPL career has come with the ball in hand.

    In the 2013 edition, he claimed the wicket of Chris Gayle with his part-time off spin in the very first over of the match. That remains his only IPL wicket to date.

    Vihari managed to get the better of Gayle in 2013.

    Vihari managed to get the better of Gayle in 2013.

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