‘And he complained to his dad (a politician)’: Hanuma Vihari reveals why he left captaincy in the middle of Ranji Trophy campaign

Andhra batter Hanuma Vihari has lashed out at the state association after his side’s harrowing Ranji Trophy quarterfinal defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday.

Vihari, who started the season as Andhra’s captain against Bengal, relinquished his leadership duties after the opening league game in the tournament. The captaincy reins were handed over to Ricky Bhui with Vihari continuing in his primary role as a top-order batter.

Following the exit from the campaign, Vihari opened up and criticised the Andhra State Cricket Association for deliberately removing him from captaincy after an incident with a squad member. Vihari also expressed his decision to leave 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.

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 absolute false, no one is higher than the game and my self-respect is much bigger than anything. Personal attacks and vulgar language is unacceptable in any platform. Everyone in the team knows what has happened that day. Play this sympathy games, however you want,” Prudhviraj, yet to make his First-Class debut, wrote on his Instagram handle.

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.

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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 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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