More than a month after resigning from the captaincy, former skipper of Andhra Pradesh, Hanuma Vihari, has finally revealed the real reason behind his decision. Vowing to “never play for Andhra Pradesh again,” Vihari claimed that he stepped down from the team’s leadership due to political pressure. His statement came after Andhra Pradesh’s loss to Madhya Pradesh by 4 runs in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy 2024.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Hanuma Vihari revealed that during his tenure as captain, he had a confrontation with a player and raised his voice at him. The player then complained to his father, who, being a politician, exerted pressure on the Cricket Association to take action against Vihari.
We fought hard till the end but it wasn’t meant to be. Gutted to lose an other quarter with Andhra. This post is about some facts I want to put forward. 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,
– Hanuman Vihari
“Although we chased 410 against last year’s finalists Bengal I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine. 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 knockouts 5 times in the last 7 years, and played for India in 16 tests,” Hanuman Vihari added.
Expressing his emotions regarding the incident, Hanuma Vihari alleged that the Cricket Association believes players will comply with their directives unquestioningly. He described feeling humiliated and embarrassed by the situation, leading him to vow never to play for Andhra Pradesh again.
“I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season because I respect the game and my team. Sad part is association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say and players are there because of them. I felt humiliated and embarrassed but I’ve not expressed it out until today,” Hanuman Vihari said.
“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,” the former AP skipper added.
Hanuman Vihari’s Instagram Post
Hanuma Vihari made the switch to Andhra Pradesh in the previous season after being associated with Hyderabad since the beginning of his career. As captain, he led Andhra Pradesh to the quarterfinals, where they faced Madhya Pradesh at the same venue. During the match, he suffered a forearm fracture while batting. Despite this injury, he displayed exceptional determination by continuing to bat left-handed.
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