New Zealand vs India 2020: Hanuma Vihari ready to open in Tests if required

After scoring a hundred in the warm-up match against New Zealand XI, Hanuma Vihari has said that he is ready to bat at the top of the order if the Indian team management wants him to do so.

Vihari has opened the batting for India in the past, as he was assigned the opening duties in the Boxing Day Test match in Australia in 2018.

When Vihari was asked, at the end of the first day’s play of the warm-up match in Hamilton, if he was up for opening the batting again, he said,

“As a player, I am prepared to bat anywhere. As of now, I’ve not been informed anything. As I said before as well, if the team requires me to bat wherever I am ready to bat.”

India all out for 263 in the practice game against New Zealand XI. Vihari 101 retd, Pujara 93 pic.twitter.com/8h0uONqFpx

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 14, 2020

The Indian team management is looking for a new opening partner for Mayank Agarwal as they don’t have the services of the injured Rohit Sharma for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.

While India have got a couple of opening options in Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, there are question marks over their ability to play the moving ball.

Shaw and Gill are extremely talented youngsters, but they are flashy players. Opening the batting in New Zealand requires solidity as the ball moves around quite a bit early on.

The duo failed to impress on the first day of the warm-up match against New Zealand XI as both batsmen returned to the pavilion without scoring any run, while Vihari scored a hundred.

The first Test of the two-match series between New Zealand and India will start from 21st February.