Hanuma Vihari was expelled from captaincy following an altercation with a junior player in the Andhra state team.
Another new development has come up in the Hanuma Vihari saga following his exit as Andhra Pradesh captain in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024. According to Vihari, he was allegedly asked to resign from captaincy by the state management following his fallout with a junior cricketer who went and complained to his influential and politician father.
Vihari stated that he was mistreated by the board and accused of political interference after Andhra failed to advance to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy 2024 due to a narrow 4-run loss to Madhya Pradesh.
Soon after, Vihari took to social media to share a ‘Letter of Support’ which comprised the signatures of fellow cricketers in support of Vihari’s reinstatement as skipper. However, the Andhra Pradesh board has now claimed that those signatures were coerced and players were ‘threatened’.
According to India Today, the Andhra Pradesh board made the following claims.
Some players have complained to the Andhra Cricket Association that they were forced to sign under threats. Andhra Cricket Association will thoroughly investigate all the complaints received and report the facts to the BCCI.
The ACA stated that signatures from players demanding Vihari’s reinstatement as captain were obtained under pressure. The state body also mentioned that numerous players and members of the support staff had previously raised concerns about Vihari’s behavior.
Read the full exchange between Hanuma Vihari and the Andhra board here.
Notably, Vihari has previously asked for NOC last year to play for a different state after feeling frustrated due to the lack of opportunities but eventually came around and wanted to represent the state.
He asked the Andhra Cricket Association to continue on behalf of Andhra, apologising for being emotional and frustrated for not being selected in the Indian team, as he was not given the NOC.
The parents of the players have brought it to the attention of the association many times that the local players are losing opportunities due to players coming and going of the team. But keeping in mind Vihari’s experience, the team management kept him. However, it is unfortunate that Vihari is making false accusations on social media platforms.
Hanuma Vihari has alleged that despite all the players in the team supporting him to continue as the captain, he was removed. In this regard, the concerned players have complained to the Andhra Cricket Association against Vihari.
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