Hanuma Vihari has been in conflict with the ACA after being asked to resign as captain following Andhra Pradesh’s opening Ranji Trophy 2023-24 match against Bengal for yelling at the ’17th player’, Prudhvi Raj KN, who is also the son of an Andhra Pradesh politician.
The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) claims that its players were forced into signing a letter backing Hanuma Vihari, urging his return to the team’s captaincy. Following their Ranji Trophy 2023–24 match against Bengal, Vihari was removed from the captaincy, and Ricky Bhui took over for him.
After Andhra’s quarterfinal loss to Madhya Pradesh, Hanuma Vihari vowed he would never play for the state team again, claiming disrespect by the association.
“Concerned players have complained against him”- ACA claim over Hanuma Vihari
Vihari stated in an Instagram post that he lost his captaincy after a politically powerful person complained about him for allegedly “shouting” at him during a game. Prithvi Raj KN, the 17th member of their Ranji squad, is the person being accused.
Following ACA’s denial of those allegations, Vihari posted an image of a letter of support bearing the signatures of other Andhra players that mentioned the supposed event. It was said that Vihari’s comments about the player in question were quite typical of the locker room and team environment.
According to an article in India Today, the ACA has now released a new statement in which it claims that players are being forced into signing the letter.
“Hanuma Vihari has alleged that despite all the players in the team supporting him to continue as the captain, he was removed. In this regard, the concerned players have complained to the Andhra Cricket Association against Vihari,” ACA was quoted in the publication as saying.
“Some players have complained to the Andhra Cricket Association that they were forced to sign under threats. Andhra Cricket Association will thoroughly investigate all the complaints received and report the facts to the BCCI,” it added.
ACA shocking claims against Hanuma Vihari
The Andhra Cricket association revealed that following the first game against Bengal, a player had complained to the organization regarding Hanuma Vihari’s behavior on the field. The association added that Vihari’s inappropriate language and actions during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy were reported by players to the managers.
“In the Ranji Trophy match against Bengal in January this year, Hanuma Vihari, who was then captain of the team, played another injured wicket-keeper, not Prithviraj.”
“We also received a complaint that Vihari had personally insulted the player in front of everyone during the Ranji match in Bengal. The aggrieved player lodged an official complaint with the Andhra Cricket Association,” ACA said.
“Moreover, players had previously complained to the Andhra Team Managers Association that Vihari used foul language and misbehaved with fellow players during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. It was stated that due to the behaviour of Hanuma Vihari, there was a class difference in the team,” it added.