The most Hanuma Vihari thing that happened to Hanuma Vihari the day he played a characteristically gritty and defiant knock to save India the SCG Test is that he tore his hamstring in the process. Once we truly realised the extent of the injury, we gained in respect for the effort, the magnitude of his achievement. Vihari didn’t just conquer the Australian attack, the worn out Day 5 track, but also his aching body. Every sportsman wishes for a day where people recognise him as an inspiration, their hero. Vihari has seen one such day very early in life.
Once the happiness of the draw soaked in, it followed a certain sense of sadness as well. Vihari won’t have the opportunity to build on this marathon effort in home environment against England. He anyway doesn’t make India’s playing XIs at home, now the injury has robbed him whatever chances there were. If the rehab takes long, he might also not feature in a curtailed Ranji Trophy season expected in February-March. Vihari doesn’t play white-ball cricket for India. He has no IPL contract either. In Covid times, a county contract has its own hurdles. So the next he plays for India, it’ll be in England, either the Test championship final or the Test series facing Anderson, Broad and Archer in their own den.
It’s only four hours before the Test match ended at the SCG that Vihari had his career on the line. These are the toughest innings a batsman plays, Rahul Dravid once said, where he’s battling for survival in the team, trying to earn himself the next game. Coincidentally, Vihari pulled off one such performance on the great man’s birthday, a 161-ball 23* that even Dravid would’ve been proud of. It’s the sort of innings that gives Vihari some breathing space. But he’ll know, the next time he plays for India, he’ll be in just as much pressure to deliver. Not to suggest his SCG epic will wipe out from the memories, the Test match game carries great recallability still, but a failure or two coming in an Indian defeat and the knives will be out again, the applause will turn into criticism, scrutiny.
Vihari is not just a Test specialist, he is an overseas Test specialist, with ‘overseas’ here categorically meaning Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies, effectively five of the twelve 12 Test playing nations to make a career in. In this Indian batting line-up, when all the first-choice picks are around, there is no place for Vihari in the top 5. He has to bat №6, which at home has a direct competitor in Ravindra Jadeja and away Rishabh Pant. Both Jadeja and Rishabh are batsmen with their career graph going upwards. They’ve strengthened their claim to bat 6 & 7 overseas through this tour. It’ll be an ideal scenario for India if they can, allows them to play five bowlers everywhere without having to compromise on the batting. But what that would mean for Vihari? Further reduction in opportunities, more time on the sidelines.
It’s not that Vihari is a natural №6 batsman either. Think of VVS Laxman here and all the shots manufactured across the ground with those beautiful wrists. Laxman had a wide range off different lengths, even while batting with the tail, to fetch as many runs as possible. Vihari doesn’t. And he’s facing much deeper bowling attacks, in conditions tougher than ever for batting.
But Vihari has a solid temperament, a compact defensive technique. He needs time and patience, especially from the selectors and the team management. To think of it, he has done well to average 32.84 after 12 Tests for India despite the uncertainty around his place in the XI, the regular change in his batting number while playing in toughest terrains. Few Indian batsmen have had a more challenging start to their Test career. Given everything, Vihari’s journey won’t get any easier from here. But he’s seen greater hardships in life and will certainly be up for the fight.
