The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has alleged that the state team players were compelled to sign the 'letter of support' for Hanuma Vihari "under threat".
Recently, Hanuma Vihari had vowed never to play for Andhra and alleged that the Andhra Cricket Association forced him to step down from captaincy citing disciplinary issues. He claimed that he had shouted at a player, who turned out to be the son of an influential politician. The said politician then reportedly asked the ACA to sack Vihari as captain.
The said player, Andhra keeper-batter KN Prudhviraj, then took to Instagram to call out Hanuma Vihari for spreading lies.
In response, Hanuma Vihari shared a copy of his statement on social media along with signatures of his teammates but the ACA has said that the cricketers were forced to sign it by the veteran player.
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"Hanuma Vihari has alleged that despite all the players in the team supporting him to continue as the captain, he was removed. In this regard, the concerned players have complained to the Andhra Cricket Association against Vihari. Some players have complained to the Andhra Cricket Association that they were forced to sign under threats. Andhra Cricket Association will thoroughly investigate all the complaints received and report the facts to the BCCI," ACA said as per a report in India Today.
"He (Vihari) asked the Andhra Cricket Association to continue on behalf of Andhra, apologizing for being emotional and frustrated for not being selected in the Indian team, as he was not given the NOC,” the report added.
Meanwhile, the report further said that ACA had accused Vihari of creating a 'class difference' in the team under his captaincy with a few players complaining about his misbehavior and use of foul language.
"Moreover, players had previously complained to the Andhra Team Managers Association that Vihari used foul language and misbehaved with fellow players during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. It was stated that due to the behavior of Hanuma Vihari, there was a class difference in the team," ACA said.
