India batsman Hanuma Vihari has strongly criticized the state association following his team's tough loss to Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals in Indore on Monday. Vihari, who initially captained Andhra against Bengal at the start of the season, stepped down from his leadership role after the first league match. The captaincy responsibilities were transferred to Ricky Bhui while Vihari continued as a key batsman in the top order. After the team's elimination from the tournament, Vihari spoke out, accusing the Andhra State Cricket Association of intentionally removing him from the captaincy due to an altercation with a squad member. Vihari also announced his immediate departure from the Andhra team.
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“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. The 30-year-old had led Andhra to the quarterfinals last season as well where they fell to Madhya Pradesh at the same venue. Battling a forearm fracture caused while batting in the match, the right-handed Vihari later walked out to bat left-handed but could not prevent a defeat. “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 was because I respect the game and my team,” Vihari added.
“Sad part is the association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say and players are there because of them. 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 association doesn’t want us to grow,” he concluded. Vihari, who last featured for India in a Test against England in 2022, had initially expressed his desire for a move to Madhya Pradesh ahead of the 2023-24 season. However, he was denied an NOC (No-Objection Certificate) by the Andhra association and the player later decided to stay on as captain for another season.
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Soon after the post went viral, on social media, there was a buzz around who was the player Vihari speaking about. While Vihari had not disclosed the team member’s name, wicket-keeper batter KN Prudhviraj took to social media in response. The young cricketer wrote, "Hello everyone iam that guy, you guys are searching in that comment box, what ever you guys heard is absolute false, no one is higher than the game and my self respect is much more bigger then anything, personal attacks and vulgar language is unacceptable. in any kind of human platform. Everyone in team knows has happened that day, play sympathy games however you want.
