In England for county stint, Hanuma Vihari using social media to aid India in COVID-19 battle
Despite being in the UK for his county stint, India’s Test batsman Hanuma Vihari has been using social media to arrange hospital beds and oxygen cylinders for COVID-19 patients in India through a network of friends.
Hanuma Vihari arrived in England last month and has been part of the county side Warwickshire. Having been selected in the Test team for the England series, he is likely to join the squad when the other members arrive in the UK on June 3.
In an interview with PTI, Hanuma Vihari stated that he was shocked by the situation back home, with people struggling to get even basic necessities like hospital beds.
The cricketer, who earned plaudits for batting with a hamstring injury in the famous Sydney draw, has been taking the help of his social media followers to try and make a difference to the situation in India. The 27-year-old said:
"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."
Hanuma Vihari has created a team of 100 volunteers, including friends and followers from across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Explaining how he managed to put a team together despite not being in India, Hanuma Vihari elaborated:
"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. My goal is to actually 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."
It’s all about good intentions and people do get inspired: Hanuma Vihari
The Indian Test specialist revealed that, apart from friends, he has also found support from common people as well as family members and his Andhra Pradesh teammates like Prithviraj Yarra.
According to Hanuma Vihari, good intentions inspire others to join in. He added:
"I built my own team. It's all about good intentions and people do get inspired and come out to help me. I have around 100 people on a WhatsApp group as volunteers and it’s their hard work that we have been able to help a few people. Yes, I am a cricketer, well known but I am able to help because of their untiring efforts to reach the distressed.
"I started as one and now we have many friends in different platforms through my following on social media. I send them requests I get and they do the search. I chip in if any recommendations are required or to post on social media," Hanuma Vihari further elaborated.
The Andhra Pradesh cricketer has not played a Test since the Sydney blockathon. He will be looking forward to make a comeback when India take on New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will start on June 18.