Hanuma Vihari started the Ranji 2023-24 season as Andhra captain.
Ricky Bhui was named the new captain with Vihari continuing in his primary role as a top-order batter.
Now Vihari, in a social media post, revealed that Andhra Cricket Association had asked him to leave the team captaincy, after he had scolded a player, who turned out to be a son of an influential politician.
Vihari criticized the Andhra State Cicket Association for deliberately removing him from captaincy and expressed his decision to leave the Andhra team immediately.
“I was the captain in the first game against Bengal, during that game I shouted on the 17th player and he complained to his dad(who is a politician), his dad in return asked the Association to take action against me. Although, we chased 410 against last year’s finalists Bengal I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine,” Vihari wrote on Instagram shortly after the defeat.
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“I never said anything on a personal note to the player but the association thought that player was more important than the guy who gave his body on the line last year and batted left handed, took Andhra to knock outs 5 times in the last 7 years and played for India in 16 tests. I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season because I respect the game and my team.
Sad part is association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say and players are there because of them. I felt humiliated and embarrassed but I’ve not expressed it out until today. I’ve decided that I’ll never play for Andhra where I lost my self respect. I love the team. I love the way we’re growing every season but the association doesn’t want us to grow,” he added.
While Vihari had not disclosed the team member’s name, wicket-keeper batter KN Prudhviraj took to social media in response.
“I am that guy you are searching in that comment box. Whatever you guys heard is absolutely false, no one is higher than the game and my self-respect is much bigger than anything. Personal attacks and vulgar language is unacceptable on any platform. Everyone in the team knows what has happened that day. Play this sympathy games, however you want,” Prudhviraj wrote on his Instagram.
Vihari, who last featured for India in a Test against England in 2022, had initially expressed his desire for move to Madhya Pradesh ahead of the 2023-24 season. But the Andhra Cricket Association denied him an NOC and the player later decided to stay on as captain for another season.