“I was forced to resign,” Hanuma Vihari breaks SILENCE amid controversy with Andhra Cricket Board

Hanuma Vihari claimed he had not used any foul languages against the young player in question.

“I was forced to resign,” Hanuma Vihari breaks SILENCE amid controversy with Andhra Cricket Board

Hanuma Vihari has captained the Andhra side to the Ranji Trophy knock outs over 7 times. (Image via ESPN)

After Andhra Pradesh were knocked out of the Ranji Trophy quarter finals on 26th February, Hanuma Vihari accused the Andhra Cricket Association of politics. On posts he put up on social media, he revealed that he was removed as captain as he scolded a bench player. The bench player then complained to his father, who pressured the ACA to take action against the player. 

Vihari was recently interviewed by India Today, where he spoke in length about the way the cricket board had treated him. He claimed he had no idea about the complaint being lodged by KN Prudhviraj and had no option but to resign as captain. He further added that he wanted to lead Andhra to the Ranji Trophy, but the complaint derailed all his plans. 

YouTube video
I had to resign. I had no other option. I sent an email also because I wanted to maintain the morale of the team. The actual reason was I didn't want to resign. We thought of winning the Ranji Trophy. But since that complaint, everything went wrong.
Hanuma Vihari to India Today

Vihari started off his domestic career by playing for Hyderabad in 2009, but shifted to Andhra Pradesh in 2016. He stayed with the team till 2021, when he returned back to Hyderabad for a single season. He tried leaving Andhra in 2023, wanting to move to Madhya Pradesh but was not given a No-Objection Certificate. 

Andhra Cricket Association claims teammates were threatened to sign petition 

After Hanuma Vihari was forced to step down from his role as captain, 15 players wrote a petition in his support. In the petition, they mentioned that Vihari was the right player to lead the side, especially after he took the team to quarter-finals seven times.

Hanuma Vihari
Hanuma Vihari was backed by his teammates to return as Andhra Pradesh captain (Images via Hanuma Vihari’s X)

They even claimed that foul language was common in the dressing room, and the player had taken it personally. Even Ricky Bhui, Vihari’s successor, had signed the petition. This had occurred after Andhra’s Ranji Trophy opener against Bengal.

The Andhra Cricket Association now claims that the players were “threatened” into signing the petition. They also claimed that many teammates and support staff were unhappy with the way the Indian batter was behaving with them. 

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