The cricketing fraternity has been helping the people in the country in these tough times and India batsman Hanuma Vihari who is presently in the UK has been at the forefront of it. Vihari has made a group of 100 volunteers to help the Covid-19 patients. The group operates on WhatsApp.
Speaking to Sports Today, the right-handed batsman said that he wanted to use his social media following in a better way.
"I thought I have to use the followers on my social media in the best way I can. It started slowly. I tried to interact with people. I realised a lot of people are in need of a lot of things," Vihari told India Today Consulting Editor, Sports, Boria Majumdar.
Vihari used the social media platform Instagram and reached out to people with a post “whoever needs help can DM (direct message) me”. He began with a fundraiser after someone had requested the Indian cricketer for financial assistance.
"I put a post on Instagram. I am very fortunate that most of my followers joined me. We are close to 100 people in our WhatsApp group. We try to solve every problem of the patients, if we can't solve it in our group, I post it on social media," he added.
“Then a lot of people wanted help and I thought I couldn’t do it alone. To get more volunteers, I formed a group on WhatsApp. On the first day there were 20 people, now it has gone up to 80, from all over India. So, we can reach out to people quicker and fulfill their requirement much quicker, that is the whole idea.”
The group covers the states like Andhra and Telangana and has also been helpful in Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu, and even a few in Kolkata, and some in northern India. “I am trying to cover wherever possible, if a request comes from other states I try to fulfill that also,” said Vihari.
The group of volunteers created by Vihari includes his teammates from Andhra. “When I put any new request in the WhatsApp group, they respond immediately. They try to get as much information as possible, whether it is for bed, ventilators, oxygen supply or medicines. They don’t just share the number but ensure help has reached the patient.”
Vihari has been named in the Indian squad for the WTC final against New Zealand slated to take place in Southampton next month and the five-match Test series against England will follow after that.
He had left for England during IPL 2021 to play the County Championship for Warwickshire. In the six innings that he played for the side, Vihari managed to score 100 runs that included a half-century.