Vihari left for England in early April to play in the English county for Warwickshire and is expected to join the Indian team directly in the UK when they arrive on June 3.
Hanuma Vihari
Crushing the pain barrier to save a Test match is by no measure a small feat but for Hanuma Vihari, the biggest satisfaction these days comes from being able to arrange a hospital bed or oxygen cylinders for desperate Covid-19 patients through a network of friends.
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The surge in fatalities and cases during the second wave of pandemic has created an unprecedented health crisis where social media has become an important tool to seek and give emergency help.
A lot of Indian cricketers have been doing their bit, ranging from making financial donations to helping people procure essential medical care. Vihari, while being in the UK for his county stint, has used his Twitter handle to amplify appeals for help. He has also created a team of 100 volunteers, comprising friends and followers from across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.
Vihari’s friends and followers have reached people with plasma, oxygen cylinders and arranged food and hospital beds for patients. “I don’t want to glorify myself. I am doing it with the intention of helping people at the ground level, who actually need every help possible in these difficult times. It is just the start,”
Vihari, 27, told PTI.
Vihari left for England in early April to play in the English county for Warwickshire and is expected to join the Indian team directly in the UK when they arrive on June 3.
“With the second wave being so strong, getting a bed became a difficulty and that is something which is unthinkable. So, I decided to use my followers as my volunteers and help as many people as I can,” Vihari, who has more than 110,000 followers on social media, said. “My goal is to mainly reach out to those people who are not able to afford or arrange for plasma, beds and essential medicine. But this is not enough. I would like to do more service in the future,” said Vihari, who has 624 runs in 11 Tests.
Vihari found support from common people, his own family and Andhra teammates like Prithviraj Yarra. “It’s all about good intentions and people do get inspired. I have around 100 people on a WhatsApp group as volunteers and it’s their hard work,” said Vihari.
Also Read: Rishabh Pant donates undisclosed amount for India’s fight against Covid-19
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