Andhra Pradesh batter Hanuma Vihari has slammed the state association following his team’s painful Ranji Trophy quarterfinal loss to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday. Hanuma Vihari, who began the season as Andhra’s captain against Bengal. He stepped down following the tournament’s first League game. Ricky Bhui took over as captain, while Vihari continued as a top-order batsman.
Following his resignation from the current Ranji Trophy, Vihari spoke against the Andhra State Cricket Association, accusing them of purposely ousting him from captaincy following an incident with a team member. Vihari also announced his decision to leave the Andhra team immediately.
“I was the captain in the first game against Bengal, during that 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 I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine,” Vihari wrote on Instagram shortly after the defeat.
Last season, Hanuma Vihari led Andhra Pradesh to the quarterfinals, when they were defeated by Madhya Pradesh at the same stadium. Battling a forearm fracture sustained during batting in the match, the right-handed Vihari eventually stepped out to bat left-handed but was unable to avoid loss.
Andhra Association denied him a NOC (No-Objection Certificate)
While Vihari did not reveal the team member’s name, wicket-keeper batter KN Prudhviraj took to social media to respond. “I am that guy you are searching for 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 are unacceptable on any platform. Everyone in the team knows what has happened that day. Play this sympathy games, however you want,” posted this on his Instagram account. KN Prudhviraj has not yet made his first-class debut.
Hanuma Vihari, last played for India was a Test match in 2022 against England. For the next season of the Ranji Trophy Hanuma Vihari wants to play for Madhya Pradesh but, the Andhra association denied him a NOC (No-Objection Certificate), and the player eventually elected to continue as captain for another season.
