Eng vs Ind: Hanuma Vihari's mother delighted by her son's selection in Kohli's team
Hanuma, along with Prithvi Shaw, were selected for the last two Tests against England, replacing Murali Vijay and Kuldeep Yadav.
Mumbai: The first thing on Wednesday Hanuma Vihari's mother Vijaya in Hyderabad did was to book a return ticket to Bangalore, where she could not wait to see her son who has been chosen to join Team India in England.
"I got the "good news" from my son yesterday and have arrived here this morning to see him (Hanuma is playing a match in Bangalore) and say all the best before he leaves for England today", she said over telephone from Bangalore.
Hanuma, along with Prithvi Shaw, were selected for the last two Tests against England, replacing Murali Vijay and Kuldeep Yadav.
"It is one of the happiest moments of my life. It is not that we were not expecting his inclusion in the squad but I could not resist to come over here...".
"He is a very caring boy in my little family and knows his responsibilities well".
"My advice to him is: continue playing with the same zeal which you have shown in the domestic circuit".
Hanuma's father died in 2005 and brought up by his mother and elder sister Vaishnavi, now doing MBA in Bangalore.
"Hanuma's father (Satyanarayana) passed away in 2005. Had he been alive to-day, he would have been equally excited".
His father worked as a Superintendent Engineer in Singareni College.
Hanuma's mother is a great devotee of Lord Krishna and therefore calls his son as Kanha, childhood name of God Lord Krishna.
No hype
Hanuma's sister believes there is not much hype about him.
"My brother has been consistent in domestic cricket but there has been no hype. This may be because he did not have enough backing. However, his mentor (John Manoj) coach R. Sreedhar (now Team India's support staff member) always used to inspire him", Vihari's sister, Vaishnavi, speaking exclusviely, said.
Second VVS Laxman
"If Vihari gets enough chance to play at the international level, he can be India's "another VVS Laxman", John Manoj, speaking from Hyderabad, said.
"He has the highest average (59.45) in First Class cricket,” he added.