Hanuma Vihari: Removed as Andhra captain for ‘shouting’ at player, who is politician’s son

Hanuma Vihari, who has played 16 Tests for India, on Monday (February 26) said he was removed as Andhra captain for “shouting” at a young teammate who is a politician’s son.

In a post on his Instagram account, Vihari said he would not play for Andhra again as he was “humiliated” by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA).

What Vihari wrote on Instagram

Vihari’s post came on a day when Andhra lost a tense Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh by four runs in Indore. Vihari scored 55 but could not take his side home.

“We fought hard till the end but it wasn’t meant to be. Gutted to lose another quarters with Andhra,” Vihari said in his social media post which had a picture of the Andhra team.

Further, he went on to reveal why he was removed as Andhra captain after winning the team’s Ranji Trophy opening game against Bengal last month.

“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 Vihari without naming the player.

“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.

He said he loves Andhra team but due to the state association he will not play for them again.

“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 concluded the post.

Who is that player?

Responding to Vihari’s post, Andhra cricketer Kuntrapakam Narsimha Prudhviraj, 24, without taking Vihari’s name, wrote on Instagram that “I am the guy”. He claimed that everyone in the team knows “what happened” on that day.

“Hello everyone iam that guy, you guys are searching in that comment box, what ever you guys heard is absolute false, no one is higher then game and my self respect is much more bigger then anything, personal attacks and vulger language is unacceptable in any kind of human platform Everyone in team knows what has happened in that day. Play this sympathy games, however u want (sic),” he wrote.

He also added that "you can't do anything other than this" in Telugu.

According to reports, wicketkeeper-batter Prudhviraj, who is yet to make his first-class debut, is the son of YSRCP politician Kuntrapakam Narasimha. He is a corporator in Tirupati.

Team support for Vihari

Later, Vihari shared a letter signed by his teammates who wrote to Andhra Cricket Association secretary and CEO to reinstate him as the captain.