Hanuma Vihari Blames Politician’s Dad After Being Removed From Andhra Pradesh Captaincy
Hanuma Vihari has blamed a teammate whose father is a politician behind his captaincy stripping.
Andhra batter Hanuma Vihari has lashed out at the state association after his side’s harrowing Ranji Trophy quarterfinal defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday and stepped down from the captaincy.
Vihari called out the Andhra State Cricket Association for removing him from the captaincy in what he believes was a targeted move following an altercation with a squad member, whose father is involved in politics.
“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. Although, we chased 410 against last year’s finalists Bengal I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine,” Vihari wrote on Instagram shortly after the defeat.
“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. I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season was because I respect the game and my team,” Vihari added.
“Sad part is the association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say and players are there because of them. 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 concluded.