Vihari didn’t get enough opportunities for the Delhi Capitals in the last IPL, making just two appearences. He represented the Sunrisers Hyderabad back in 2013 and 2015, but couldn’t establish himself in the 24 matches he played in the cash-rich tournament.
Also see - IPL 2020 Teams
With four half-centuries in T20s, and a decent strike rate of more than 112, Vihari told PTI in an interview regarding how the IPL contract was not under his control. He also showed the willingness to do well for India whenever he gets an opportunity to do so.
Vihari got named in the India A side as the captain for the two four-day first-class games against New Zealand, ahead of the Test series.
He explained how he is looking forward to playing in New Zealand, being aware of the weather conditions and pitches.
The 26-year-old, who is a middle-order batsman, opened the batting for India in the Boxing Day Test versus Australia in 2018. Although he managed to score only 8 and 13 runs in the two innings, he patiently saw off the new ball against the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins in the demanding pitch condition at the MCG.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s brilliant century (106) under pressure, followed by the assistance of Mayank Agarwal (76) and Virat Kohli (82) in the first innings, saw India winning a Boxing Day Test for the first time in history by 137 runs.
Referring to the time when he opened the innings, Vihari explained the necessity to perform well whenever an opportunity gets handed out because of the amount of competition.
Vihari has scored 466 runs in seven Test matches at a decent average of 42.36. He has scored three fifties and a hundred, which came against the West Indies. He scored 111 and 53* in Jamaica, becoming the fifth only player from India to score a century and a fifty while batting at number 6 or lower outside Asia.
Depicting how international exposure has improved his game at the domestic level, Vihari said:
Mentioning how Virat Kohli inspires him to do well, Vihari concluded by praising the skipper and how he is looking forward to getting along with his teammates.
0 votes
