"I’ll never play for Andhra" - 'Humiliated' and embarrassed' Hanuma Vihari reveals sensational reason behind sacking as captain
Published - 26 Feb 2024, 04:06 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 10:27 AM
Hanuma Vihari, on Monday (February 26), announced that he would never play for Andhra again after being disrespected by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA).
Before the start of the ongoing Ranji season, several reports suggested that the right-handed batsman was on the verge of leaving Andhra. However, the ACA managed to retain him for the ongoing season. Hanuma Vihari was also the captain of the team for Andhra’s season-opener against Bengal. However, he sensationally stepped down as the captain of the team after the game against Bengal and was replaced by Ricky Bhui.
While the reason behind his unexpected decision was not known at that time, Hanuma Vihari has revealed the incident that made him resign as the captain. He made the revelation after Andhra lost the quarterfinal game against Madhya Pradesh by four runs on Monday.
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Hanuma Vihari disrespected:
Soon after the quarterfinal ended, Hanuma Vihari took to Instagram to take shots at the ACA. He began by expressing his disappointment over the loss before making the revelation. The right-handed batsman revealed that he had ‘shouted on 17th player’ during the tournament opener against Bengal and the player complained about it to his politician father.
The player’s father asked the ACA to take action and Hanuma Vihari was asked to step down as the captain. He stated that he was asked to give up captaincy ‘without any fault of mine’. The Andhra batter further said that although he did not say anything personal to the player, the ACA decided to give the player priority over him.
“We fought hard till the end but it wasn’t meant to be. Gutted to lose an another quarters with Andhra. This post is about some facts I want to put forward,” wrote Hanuma Vihari.
“I was the captain in the first game against Bengal, during that game I shouted on 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.
“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,” he added.
Writing further, Hanuma Vihari stated that he felt embarrassed by the incident but decided to continue playing only for his love for the game and the team. He concluded by writing that he would never play for Andhra 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. 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,” wrote Vihari.
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