Cricket

India’s BGT 2021 Sydney Test hero Hanuma Vihari quits Andhra Pradesh team due politics; team shows solidarity

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Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin

In a shocking turn of events, Indian cricketer Hanuma Vihari, famed for his heroic performance in the Sydney Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2021, has announced his decision to quit the Andhra Pradesh cricket team. Vihari, in a detailed Instagram post, accused a fellow teammate of playing politics against him and influencing the state association to remove him from the captaincy. This revelation has sparked a controversy that has divided opinions within the cricketing community.

The public announcement and allegations from Vihari

Vihari’s decision to step down from the captaincy came after Andhra Pradesh’s heartbreaking 4-run loss to Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season. In his statement, Vihari revealed that the conflict began when he had a heated argument with the 17th player of the team during the first game against Bengal and the latter complained to his politician father, who, in turn, pressured the Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association to take action against Vihari.

Vihari further expressed his embarrassment at being asked to resign from the captaincy without any fault of his own. He highlighted his contributions to the team, including batting left-handed while suffering from injury and leading Andhra to the knockouts five times in the last seven years. The Andhra-born batter then explained that despite feeling humiliated after all this drama, he still continued to play for the side out of respect for the game and his team.

“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 Vihari in the long note.

“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,” he added.

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The controversy escalates as the player accused by Vihari reacts

The accused player, responding to Vihari’s allegations, claimed that he was abused by Vihari and emphasized that no one is bigger than the game. He alleged the use of foul language by Vihari in the dressing room, creating a public spectacle around the issue.

Team’s unified support to Vihari

The narrative took a surprising turn when the entire Andhra team came together to issue a letter urging the association president to allow Vihari to continue as the team’s captain. They defended Vihari, stating that the alleged inappropriate language is a norm in the dressing room and should not be taken out of context. Vihari shared the letter on his social media, captioning it with ‘The whole team knows!’

Also READ: Virat Kohli showers special praise after India’s clinical victory over England in the Ranchi Test

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