Hanuma Vihari has decided that he will never play for Andhra — a team where he lost his ‘self-respect’.
Shortly after losing to Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy on Monday, the seasoned Vihari wrote on his social media handles that he’s moving on from Andhra due to ‘humiliation’.
Despite being named the skipper for the season, Vihari relinquished captaincy ahead of Andhra’s second game against Mumbai in January. “This post is about some facts that 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 (sic),” Vihari wrote on his social media handles.
“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 the player was more important than the guy who gave his body on the line last year and batted left-handed, took Andhra to knockouts five times in the last seven years, and played for India in 16 Tests,” he wrote.
Hurt with the Andhra Cricket Association’s role in the whole issue, he added: “I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season is because I respect the game and my team (sic).”
“The sad part is the 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 have never expressed it out until today. I have decided that I’ll never play for Andhra where I lost my self-respect.”
Even though Vihari did not name the player, K.N. Prudhvi Raj, who’s featured in a lone List A game, took to social media to announce that he was the player in question. He, however, denied all the allegations and claimed that Vihari was playing the sympathy card. “Everyone in the team knows what has happened that day,” he wrote.
Our Hyderabad Sports Bureau reports
The Andhra Cricket Association in a statement on Monday said that it would conduct a thorough enquiry into all the complaints (pertaining to the Hanuma Vihari episode) and due course of action would be communicated in the near future.
“We have acknowledged Hanuma Vihari’s statements, where in he raised allegations against the ACA, particularly concerning his captaincy stint.
“The ACA upholds equal treatment for all the players, without favouring individuals based on the seniority or perceived importance,” the statement said.
