Hyderabad: On Monday, the Andhra cricket team’s painful four-run loss to Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final was not the only setback they suffered.
Hours later, their star batsman Hanuma Vihari, who stepped down from the captaincy last month, levelled allegations against the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) and vowed “never to play again” for the Andhra Ranji team — an announcement that has stirred a storm in sports circles and taken political and caste colours in poll-bound Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh assembly polls will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections in April.
In a long post on Instagram and X, Vihari, who has played 16 Tests for India, wrote, “We fought hard till the end but it wasn’t meant to be. Gutted to lose another quarters with Andhra. This post is about some facts I want to put forward.”
He added: “I was the captain in the first game against Bengal. During that game I shouted on (sic) 17th player and he complained to his dad (who is a politician). His dad in return asked the association to take action against me.” He went on to say that he had been asked to resign as captain.
Ranji Trophy 2023/24 pic.twitter.com/PXHNG487BQ
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) February 26, 2024
His post attracted support on X with the hashtag #WeStandWithHanuma. Vihari also found support in former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who accused the ACA of “succumbing to YSRCP’s vindictive politics.”
Naidu’s son, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh, said, “The bitter exit of (this) celebrated cricketer from Andhra cricket is due to the ruling party’s political interference.”
I am appalled at the bitter exit of celebrated cricketer @Hanumavihari from Andhra Cricket due to the ruling party's political interference. I invite @Hanumavihari to come back to play for Andhra Pradesh in two months’ time. We'll roll out the red carpet for him and the team, and…
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) February 27, 2024
The opposition party has also made reference to Vihari’s caste — Kapu — in its accusations, saying Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) establishment had crushed a talented young cricketer from the community.
Kapus, a traditionally agrarian community estimated to be over 20 percent of the AP population, are a significant vote bank vied for by both the TDP-Jana Sena and the YSRCP parties. Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, the TDP’s poll partner, is also a Kapu.
Kalyan also backed Vihari in a post Tuesday and said: “…Andhra Cricket Association forced Vihari to resign from the captaincy just because a YCP corporator wanted it. A local YCP politician with no cricket background is more valuable than an Indian cricketer & Andhra Pradesh Ranji team captain to our Andhra Cricket Association. What a shame!”
He added: “Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, what is the point of spending crores of money in events like ‘Aadudam Andhra’ when the state cricket association humiliates and insults our Andhra cricket team captain?”. He was referring to the 50-day sports and games tournaments organised across the state over the past few months by the YSRCP government.
Represented our ‘Bharath’ in 16 Test Matches, Scored 5 half Centuries & a Century, His Heroics in Sydney Test against Australia is unforgettable.
As Andhra Pradesh Ranji Team captain, helped Andhra Team to qualify for the knockouts 5 times in the last 7 years. From Playing with… pic.twitter.com/Z3bQOqwKeE
— Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) February 27, 2024
Meanwhile TDP leaders identified the player referred to by Vihari as Kuntrapakam Prudhviraj, son of Kuntrapakam Narasimha, a YSRCP corporator from Tirupati purportedly close to Tirupati MLA and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy.
TDP national spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhi Ram alleged that Vihari was forced to quit, “harassed by Jaganmohan Reddy’s men.”
“Vihari was pressured by Prudhviraj’s father, Kuntrapakam Narasimha, to leave cricket altogether. Vihari was subjected to relentless verbal abuse and humiliation, finally resulting in his decision not to play for Andhra ever again,” Kommareddy said in a statement Monday night.
The TDP leader accused the CM of “crushing a talented sports person like Hanuma Vihari” for an altercation with the son of a YSRCP leader.
“Jagan Reddy has placed his henchmen even in the Andhra Cricket Association. The president of ACA is Sarath Chandra Reddy, who is also an accused in the Delhi liquor scam. So, criminals who are close to Jagan Reddy are running the cricket association,” alleged Kommareddy.
Kommareddy and TDP politburo member Varla Ramaiah also brought up Vihari’s caste, with Komareddy hitting out at the CM “for making tall promises to the Kapu community”.
In another statement, Ramaiah said, “Because of Jagan Reddy, such a promising cricketer from the Kapu community has now decided not to play for Andhra Pradesh. Jagan needs to stop his political vendetta.”
ThePrint reached AP CMO officials and Bhumana over the telephone for comment on the allegations. This report will be updated once a response is received.
Meanwhile, identifying himself as the player aggrieved by Vihari’s language, Kuntrapakam Prudhviraj posted on social media saying that “personal attacks and vulgar language are unacceptable in any kind of human platform.”
“Hello everyone, I am that guy you guys are searching in that comment box. Whatever you guys heard is absolutely false, no one is higher than game and my self-respect is much bigger than anything. Everyone in the team knows what has happened on that day. Play these sympathy games, however u want,” posted Prudhviraj on Instagram.
The ACA also issued a statement Monday saying that the player aggrieved by Vihari’s language had filed an official complaint with the association, and that other complaints had been received previously about Vihari allegedly using foul language. It also said that the change of captain had been proposed by the chairman of the selection committee due to Vihari’s status as an India prospect affecting his availability, and that Vihari had expressed his appreciation for the decision. The association said it would conduct an inquiry into all complaints.
‘I’ll never play for Andhra’
In his post, Vihari alleged that he was asked to resign from captaincy over the incident.
“Although, we chased 410 against last year’s finalists Bengal, I was asked to resign… 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 five times in the last seven years,” wrote the 30-year-old.
The cricketer added that though he “felt embarrassed, the only reason I continued playing this season (is) because I respect the game and my team.”
Vihari, who comes from Andhra Pradesh, went on to add: “Sad part is (the) 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 until today.”
“I’ve decided that I’ll never play for Andhra where I lost my self-respect,” he announced.
Vihari backed his claims by later posting a letter, apparently written by his Ranji teammates to the ACA, “wanting him to lead the Andhra squad”.
The whole team knows! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/l5dFkmjGN9
— Hanuma vihari (@Hanumavihari) February 26, 2024
“A complaint has been issued by a fellow teammate in the Ranji squad that Vihari has used foul language and has approached him aggressively. The truth is he has not approached him aggressively and this sort of language has been a very common thing in our team atmosphere and it is always for getting the best out of the talent. (Such language) has been used since ages in the team dressing rooms,” said the undated letter addressed to the president, secretary and CEO of the ACA.
“Unfortunately, one of the team members took it personally. We, all the team players including the support staff, have been witness to it, and we want Vihari to continue as our captain. Since we have no issues with him and he always brought the best out of us. As you can see the team has done very well, united and qualified more than seven times under his leadership.”
“Sir, this Ranji season means a lot to us players and we have prepared so well and also started the tournament with a win against Bengal. As Andhra Ranji team players we want Viahri to lead our side,” said the letter signed by 15 players.
‘Foul language and abusive behaviour; will probe’
Meanwhile, the ACA, too, issued a clarification Monday to the press “in response to comments made by Hanuma Vihari on his Instagram posts.”
“It has come to our attention that Vihari personally, verbally abused a specific player during the Bengal Ranji game in front of everyone. The affected player filed an official complaint with ACA,” read the statement.
The ACA said that in January, following the first Ranji Trophy game, an email from the chairman of the Senior Selection Committee proposed a new captain due to Vihari’s status as an Indian prospect affecting his season-long availability.
“Vihari, in response, expressed appreciation for the decision, leading to Ricky Bhui being announced as the new captain by the senior selection committee.”
The ACA statement said that complaints had been received from teammates, support staff, and ACA administrators about Vihari’s alleged use of foul language and abusive behaviour. “Previously, during the Mushtaq Ali tournament, the Andhra team manager lodged complaints about internal groupism,” it added.
“Since joining Andhra from Hyderabad, Vihari has frequently sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to move to other states after receiving offers. On occasions, he swiftly reversed this decision, apologising for expressing frustration and expressing a desire to continue playing for Andhra. Considering his experience, which will ultimately benefit the Andhra Cricket Team, we have accepted his request to continue,” said the statement.
The ACA will conduct a thorough inquiry into all the complaints, and the due course of action will be communicated in the near future, said the communication from the media manager.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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