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India's middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari admitted that making a comeback into India's Test side is tough and getting snubbed has had an effect on his mindset.
Vihari made his last Test appearance in July 2022 against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham. He was promoted up the order in skipper Rohit Sharma’s absence as he had contracted Covid-19. Injuries have also played a major role in him getting sidelined.
"Once you are dropped or left aside from the Indian team, it is tough to make a comeback. It affects your mindset. I went through that last season," said Vihari, the captain of South Zone in Duleep Trophy 2023.
The 29-year-old Vihari has not given hope and has been inspired by Ajinkya Rahane's comeback who turned out to be India's best batter in World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final. Rahane has also been named vice-captain of the side for two-Test series against West Indies.
"You will want to come back until you retire. Even though I'm 29, I still have it in me. You've seen Ajinkya Rahane make a comeback at 35," he said.
"I feel I still have a long way to go and have a lot to contribute to the Indian side, especially in Test cricket."
The Andhra Pradesh-born batter his main focus is to keep performing in the domestic circuit and leave the rest on selectors.
"This season, I want to keep everything aside and focus on my batting and get better at my skills. Whenever I got a chance, I thought I did well. Maybe my best was not good enough for the Indian team. I'll try to keep getting better," he said.
In the 2023 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Rahane was in splendid form for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, he had performed well in the Ranji Trophy as well when he was dropped from the Test side. Vihari believes that it is not possible for him to make a comeback via IPL.
"IPL is something I don't have an opportunity to make an impact on and I only have the domestic season. So, I have to grind it out in the domestic season," said Vihari.
However, he does not want to be branded as a red-ball player. He feels he has improved as a white-ball player in recent times.
"People have branded me as a Test player but it is unfair. If you see my IPL journey, I've done well when I was 19, 20. Although I've grown as a white-ball player, I haven't got much opportunities.
"It is unfair to brand players, a quality player can play all three formats. Going forward I want to play all formats."
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