‘I felt humiliated, embarassed…’: Hanuma Vihari slams Andhra Cricket Association for political interference

NEW DELHI : Indian batter Hanuma Vihari announced on Monday that he will never represent Andhra Pradesh in domestic cricket ever again, accusing the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) of mistreatement that has left him “humiliated.”.

Vihari made this revelation just after Andhra Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy journey came to an end during the quarterfinals with a four-run loss to Madhya Pradesh. During a run-chase of 170, Vihari made a fighting 55 runs. He ended the Ranji season with 522 runs in 13 innings at an average of just above 40, with a century and three fifties.

In an Instagram post, Vihari made allegations that he was forced to resign as captain following Andhra’s opening round match against Bengal back in January. During that time, he had cited personal reasons for his decision, but now revealed that the association had in fact acted against him because of political interference after he shouted at a player, whom he claimed was a politician’s son.

“I was captain in the first game against Bengal, and during the game, I shouted at 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 [for a first-innings lead], I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine,” wrote Vihari.

Vihari said that he did not say anything personal to the player and felt that the board had undermined his importance despite his contribution to the team and the fact he represented India in Tests as well.

“I never said anything on a personal note to the player, but the association thought the player was more important than the guy who gave his body on the line last year and batted left-handed, took Andhra to the knockouts five times in the last seven years and played for India in 16 Tests,” said Vihari.
The batter said that he felt “humiliated and embarrassed”, but nonetheless carried on playing under the new skipper, Ricky Bhui, out of respect for the team and the sport.

“I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season is because I respect the game and my team. The sad part is that association think that players have to listen to whatever they say, and players are there because of them. I felt humiliated and embarrassed, but I have not expressed it until today,” he concluded.

Ranji Trophy 2023/24 pic.twitter.com/PXHNG487BQ

— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) February 26, 2024

Vihari also shared a letter written to the ACA by the team, in which clarifications for Vihari’s action was offered and the team also asked the board to restore Vihari as their captain, saying that he brings the best out of the team. The letter was signed by various team players, including Bhui. The letter was written to the association’s president Sarath Chandra Reddy, secretary SR Gopinath Reddy and CEO, Dr M Venkata Siva Reddy.

“This is about the ongoing issue about Hanuma Vihari. A complaint has been issued by a fellow teammate in the Ranji squad that Vihari has used foul language and has approached him aggressively. But the truth is, he has not approached him aggressively and this sort of language has been a very common thing in our dressing room and it is always gets the best out of the team. It has been used since long ages in team dressing rooms.

Unfortunately, one of the team members took it personally. We all team players, including support staff, have been a witness to it and wish Vihari to continue as our captain, since we have no issues with him and he always brought the best out of us. As you can see, the team has done well and is united under his leadership, and have also qualified more than seven times under his leadership. Sir, this Ranji season means a lot to us as players and we have prepared so well and also started the tournament with a win against Bengal. As Andhra team Ranji players, we want Vihari to lead our side,” said the players.

Notably, Vihari ended the season after a match against MP, a team he had been rumoured to move on to and lead prior to current season. Vihari had been in talks with their coach Chandrakant Pandit and had he made the move, he could have featured in a strong batting line-up featuring Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer and Shubham Sharma, among others. But the lead fell through at the last moment and reasons were not specified. He was persuaded by ACA to stay prior to Duleep Trophy, where he had led South Zone to the trophy.

Vihari had started his first-class career in Hyderabad and moved to Andhra in 2015-16. A brief return to Hyderabad came prior to the 2021-22 season and he moved to Andhra once again. He also played his last international match back in July 2022, against England in the final Test of five-test series. In his 16-match Test career, he scored 839 runs at an average of 33.56, with a century and five fifties. (ANI)