Hanuma Vihari signed by county side Warwickshire

England County Cricket Club Warwickshire on Thursday announced the signing of India’s Test batsman Hanuma Vihari for the opening round of the county championship. The 27-year-old cricketer made his Test debut against England in 2018 and has played 12 Test matches so far, including three matches in a recent series win for Australia and a career-best score of 111 for the West Indies in 2019. “Hanuma will arrive in the UK this afternoon. We hope this will give him time to quarantine his six days and play in next week’s game vs Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, subject to receiving a negative COVID test,” Director of Cricket Paul of Warwickshire Farbrace in an official statement.

In first-class cricket, Vihari, who has been working as a cover for Peter Malan, has scored 7,094 runs in 90 games, with an impressive average of 56.75, while his off-spin has also contributed 27 wickets.

“We are also extremely grateful to Hanuma for this move to cover Peter Mallen while we awaited confirmation of the visa and his safe entry into the UK from South Africa,” said Farbrace.

In January this year, Vihari, who was going through a thin patch, struggled brilliantly as he played 161 balls and formed a fiery partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin to deny Australia a win in the third Test.

Promoted

Also, after the conclusion of the third Test, it was revealed that he batted with a Grade 2 tear for the script of the Sydney draw. Subsequently, Vihari was ruled out of the fourth Test, which India won, sealing the series 2–1.

Vihari said: “I am looking forward to this opportunity and it is really exciting to play for a big club like Warwickshire.”