Rahul Dravid's message to Hanuma Vihari after his SCG heroics: Very well done, you did a great job

Hanuma Vihari, one of India's heroes in SCG Test vs Australia, has revealed the message he got from his "mentor" Rahul Dravid after the iconic draw.

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Rahul Dravid's message to Hanuma Vihari after his SCG heroics: Very well done, you did a great job
India batsman Hanuma Vihari (AP Image)

In Short

  • Hanuma Vihari cedited Rahul Dravid for bridging gap between Ranji Trophy and the Indian team
  • Rahul Dravid was more of a mentor than a coach: Hanuma Vihari
  • Very well done, you did a great job: Dravid's message to Vihari after SCG draw

India batsman Hanuma Vihari, who braved a severe hamstring injury and played 161 balls for his unbeaten 23 to help his team pull off an iconic draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) has called Rahul Dravid a mentor-cum-coach.

In an exclusive interview with Sports Today, the middle-order batsman explained in detail about the role legendary Rahul Dravid has played in nurturing the future stars of Indian cricket team.

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The Andhra Pradesh batsman also revealed the message he got from former India's number three after the conclusion of the third Test against Australia. The Test match had seen a heavily bruised India bat for an entire day to devoid Australia of a chance to take an unbeatable lead in the 4-match series.

"Even after the Sydney Test, it was nice of him to send me a text. He said ‘Very well done, you did a great job’. That is the person he is and I respect him for that," Vihari told India Today's Consulting Editor (Sports) Boria Majumdar.

Further, the 27-year-old stated that it was because of Rahul Dravid that the gap between Ranji Trophy and the Indian team was not much now. Hanuma Vihari credited Rahul Dravid for giving the youngsters to express themselves while on India A tours.

"I mean, after getting picked in the India A side. Those who were there in the side, Siraj, Saini, Shubman, Mayank, everyone who were part of that side played a lot of cricket together in India A. Also, in the last 3-4 years, we played many India A tours and he was the coach (Rahul Dravid). I don’t think we played so many India A tours before. So that bridged the gap between Ranji Trophy and the Indian team. We made the progress quickly. That’s the reason why we are playing our first game or the second game, we are ready for the challenge. We are not behind any other players. He made it possible.

"As youngsters, we have to give a lot of credit to him, the way he let us express our game. When we play under him, it always feels like he is more of a mentor than a coach. He is always there whenever we need him.

"Even in the last Australia tour, I made a call to him, saying ‘Sir, I am making my debut’. He said ‘you have done exceptionally well in Ranji Trophy, in India A, so you’re ready to play’. That’s the confidence he gave me," Vihari said.

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