 "Explained: Why Andhra Cricket Association initiated inquiry against Vihari")
Hanuma Vihari, one of the grittiest red-ball batters going around in the country, on Monday, shocked all by announcing that he will not play for Andhra Pradesh, his domestic side, any more. This announcement on Vihari’s Instagram account came right after Andhra’s four-run loss in the quarterfinal of the Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh in Indore.
Following this announcement, the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), in a press release said that they are going to launch an inquiry against the cricketer.
Why did the ACA launch the inquiry?
Vihari, 30, mentioned ACA in his Instagram post, saying that he lost his respect because of the association’s inefficiency and blame game against him. It was after this post that the Andhra Cricket's administration swung to action and in a press release said that they would set up an inquiry against the former captain of the team.
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Why did Vihari blame ACA?
Vihari in his Instagram post wrote that he fought hard with his team in the quarterfinal, but was gutted to miss making it to the Ranji semi-final. However, it was the second paragraph of his post that got the attention.
Vihari said that a 17th member of the team complained to his dad who is a politician and got him to resign as a captain for the Andhra side. The right-handed batter who has played 16 Tests for India, admitted that he had shouted at the player during the first game of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 against last season’s finalists Bengal. Andhra went on to win the match, but Vihari was removed as captain and Ricky Bhui was given the charge.
The former Andhra captain then lashed out at the association saying that for them the politician and his son were more important than a player who played 16 Tests for India and put his body on the line for his team. It is because of this behaviour of the association that he decided to quit playing for Andhra.
What has Vihari done for Andhra cricket?
Vihari, hailing from Kaninada in Andhra represented the Hyderabad Cricket Association in his initial years, before switching base seven years ago in the 2017-18 domestic season. Since then he took Andhra to three Ranji Trophy Quarterfinals in 2019-20, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
He even put his body on the line during the 2022-23 quarterfinal where he batted left-handed against speedsters like Avesh Khan of Madhya Pradesh, only to make sure his team added enough runs on the board. Vihari was hurt by a bouncer while batting in the first innings and his right hand could not be used to bat due to excessive pain.
Eventually, it was not enough for Andhra as they lost the quarterfinal. Apart from making it to the Ranji quarterfinals, Andhra reached the knockout stage of two more domestic competitions under Vihari’s leadership.
In five seasons for the Andhra Cricket team so far, Vihari has scored 1948 runs in the Ranji Trophy at a stunning average of 51.26 with four centuries to his name.
What Did Andhra Cricket Say in Press Release?
ACA countered Vihari’s claims saying that it was not professional of him to react to a young player’s mistake the way he did. The ACA also added that team officials recommended that Vihari be removed from captaincy. They also levelled charges at Vihari saying he always asked for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the association to try and play for other states.
Vihari refuted these claims by producing a letter which all the players of the Andhra team signed saying that the treatment meted out to the young player was not over the top and did not demand resignation from the captain.
Ashiwn’s Intervention
Ravichandran Ashiwn, Indian off-spinner and Viharis’s partner at the other end in the famous Sydney Test where they both played nearly 60 0vers to draw the Test and keep India alive in the series against Australia tweeted, asking Vihari to have a little chit chat with him, meaning that he wants to highlight the issue on his YouTube channel.