Chandimal ruled out of Asia Cup, Vihari on what Dravid told him and more - Cricket News Today, 10th September 2018

Vihari attributes his promising debut to Dravid's motivation

Hanuma Vihari scored a fighting 56 under challenging conditions in his first Test innings

Indian batsman Hanuma Vihari has attributed his promising Test debut to the confidence instilled by 'A' team coach Rahul Dravid. Hailing the batting icon's priceless influence on his formative years, the 24-year old also opened up on those motivational words which helped calm his nerves.

Vihari affirmed, "I called him (Dravid) the day before I made my debut and told him I was making my debut. He spoke to me for a couple of minutes and gave his inputs and I thought it eased my nerves a little bit, because it is coming from a legend and you know that you belong here. He just told me that you have the skillset, you have the mindset and the temperament, just go out there and enjoy yourself."

The talented right-hander added, "I would like to give him a lot of credit for that because my journey with India A was very important for me to come here, because not only that I performed there but the way he gave us inputs, that made me a better player."