Even though Vihari did not name the player, KN Prudhvi Raj took to social media to announce that he was the player in question.
Hanuma Vihari. (X)
Breaking the silence as to why he stepped down from the captaincy of the Andhra Pradesh Ranji Trophy team, Indian team batsman Hanuma Vihari on Monday, 26 February, claimed that it was due to political interference.
He claimed that the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) forced him to resign following interference from a teammate’s father — a politician.
The seasoned cricketer, who has 16 Indian Test caps to his name, said he will never play for the state again. However, reports suggest that Vihari has yet to decide on his future course of action.
Hours after the middle-order batter slammed the ACA on social media, he posted another picture of the team members coming to his support and asking him to continue as the captain.
“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,” Vihari said earlier in the day after the team lost to Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinal of Ranji Trophy.
Vihari starred in the Sydney Test match in the famous 2021 tour of Australia.
Struggling with a hamstring injury, the batsman faced a fiery Australian bowling attack and went unbeaten 23 playing 161 balls to earn India a crucial draw in the series.
The letter Vihari posted on social media comprises the signatures of 15 of his teammates, including the present captain Ricky Bhui.
Collectively addressing the issue, the Andhra Ranji squad 2024-25 players in a letter to the ACA President said, “A complaint has been issued by a fellow teammate in the Ranji squad that Vihari used foul language and has approached him aggressively… that this sort of language has been a very common thing in our team atmosphere and it is always in getting the best out of the team, and it has been used since long ages in team dressing rooms.”
Demanding Vihari to continue as the team captain, the teammates went on saying, “Unfortunately one of the team members took it(Vihari’s words) personally. We, all the team players including the support staff, want Vihari to continue as our captain.”
Pointing to Vihari’s contribution to the team, the players added, “Since we have no issues with him and he always bought the best out of us and as you can see the team has done very well and united in his leadership and also qualified (to the knockouts) more than 7 times under his leadership.”
Asserting the demand to reinstate Vihari as the leader of the squad, the players concluded by saying, “Sir this Ranji season means a lot [to] us as players we have prepared so well and also started the tournament with a win against Bengal. As Andhra Ranji team players, we want Vihari to lead our side.”
The whole team knows! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/l5dFkmjGN9
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) February 26, 2024
Lashing out at the ACA, Vihari said, “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.”
“I love the team. I love the way we’re growing every season but the association doesn’t want us to grow,” Vihari wrote on a social media post.
The 30-year-old, who last featured in Indian jersey in 2022 against England, began the season as Andhra captain but stepped down after the first match against last year’s runners-up Bengal.
Following that, Ricky Bhui was handed the team captaincy for the rest of the season. At the time, Vihari attributed his decision to move away from leadership role due to “personal reasons” but now the right-handed batter claimed the association had asked him to resign.
“Although we chased 410 against last year’s finalists Bengal, I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine,” said Vihari.
Commenting further, he added that he put his body on the line for the team, recalling last year’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Madhya Pradesh.
Due to a forearm injury to his right hand, Vihari batted from the left-handed in that game. However, the Andhra team still lost the game.
“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.”
Vihari summed up by saying that he felt embarrassed “but the only reason I continued playing this season was because I respect the game and my team. ”
Even though Vihari did not name the player, wicketkeeper-batsman KN Prudhvi Raj, who has featured in a lone List A game, took to social media to announce that he was the player in question.
Prudhvi Raj’s statement on social media.
Stating the allegations directed towards him false, Prudhvi Raj said, “…no one is higher than the game and my self respect is much more bigger than anything, personal attacks and vulgar language is unacceptable on any kind of human platform. Everyone in the team knows what has happened that day..”
In his veiled attack, Prudhvi Raj went on saying, “You (Vihari) can’t do anything else apart from this Mr Champion. Play these sympathy games however you want.”
Reports suggest that Prudhvi Raj is the son of Kuntrapakam Narasimha, who is the YSRCP corporator of the 25th ward in the Tirupati Municipal Corporation in Andhra Pradesh.
It may also be noted that ACA chief P Sarath Chandra Reddy is a relative of a YSRCP Rajya Sabha member who is a close aide of party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Hyderabad-based industrialist Sarath Chandra Reddy was earlier arrested in connection with the Delhi liquor scam.
He eventually turned an approver in the case last year.
The ACA responded to the developments — specifically Vihari’s remarks — by Monday evening in a statement where it said it had taken note of the complaints.
It said it had acknowledged Vihari’s statements, where he raised allegations against the ACA, “particularly concerning his captaincy stint”.
The ACA said it upholds “equal treatment for all players, without favouring individuals based on seniority or perceived importance”.
The association noted that it had come to its attention that “Vihari personally verbally abused a specific player during the Bengal Ranji game in front of everyone”, adding that the “affected player filed an official complaint” with the ACA.
On Vihari being removed from captaincy, the ACA said: “In January 2024, following the first Ranji Trophy game, an email from the chairman of the Senior Selection Committee proposed a new captain due to Vihari’s status as an Indian prospect affecting his season-long availability. Vihari, in response, expressed appreciation for the decision, leading to Ricky Bhui being announced as the new captain by [the] Senior Selection Committee.”
The association also said it had received complaints “from teammates, support staff, and ACA administrators about Vihari’s use of foul language and abusive behaviour”.
It added that the Andhra team manager had complained about internal groupism during the Mushtaq Ali tournament.
The ACA, however, levelled a new set of allegations against Vihari, who said that since joining the Andhra team from Hyderabad, Vihari “frequently sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to move to other states after receiving offers”.
It added that he at times “swiftly reversed this decision”, apologising for “expressing frustration”.
“Considering his experience, which will ultimately benefit the Andhra Cricket Team, we accepted his request to continue,” it said.
The association said in its statement that it would “conduct a thorough inquiry into all the complaints and the due course of action will be communicated in the near future”.
Keep trying!! 👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/Wggq0cFisU
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) February 26, 2024
May 03, 2024
May 03, 2024
May 03, 2024
May 02, 2024
May 02, 2024
May 02, 2024
