Veteran India batter Hanuma Vihari has put out an emotional statement revealing the reason behind his resignation as Andhra Pradesh’s captain after their first game of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season. He has vowed to not play for Andhra Pradesh again in domestic cricket.
Hanuma Vihari put out a statement on social media following Andhra Pradesh’s exit from the quarterfinal of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season. He stated the details of the incident that forced him to resign from the captaincy. He revealed that he shouted at a player, who was a politician’s son. The player and his father then forced the Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association to remove Hanuma Vihari as the captain. Ricky Bhui replaced the veteran batter in the leadership role.
“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. 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,” wrote Hanuma Vihari in his statement.
“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.
Ranji Trophy 2023/24 pic.twitter.com/PXHNG487BQ
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) February 26, 2024
I felt embarrassed: Hanuma Vihari
Hanuma Vihari further expressed that he continued to play despite the incident as he respects the game and his team. However, he added that he has been humiliated and feels embarrassed. Viharu has stated that he won’t play for Andhra Pradesh again in domestic cricket. He wrote,
“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 the association doesn’t want us to grow.”
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