Hanuma Vihari makes sensational claims of politics in Andhra Pradesh cricket, vows never to play for it again

Three years ago a guy put his body on the line to save the 3rd test at Sydney which paved the way for the victory in the 4th test at Gabba of the iconic 2020-2021 Border-Gavaskar series. Three years later, the same guy is now out of the national test side and is fighting a battle outside the playing for his respect which he lost while playing for his domestic side.

It is about ‘Hanuma Vihari’ who is one of the heroes of the ultimate test series which is now a part of India’s cricketing folklore. Vihari has played 16 tests for India and 37 first-class games for Andhra Pradesh but despite what he has done for the country and the state, he has been let down and humiliated by his state board.

Hanuma Vihar’s shock social media revelation

Hanuma Vihari through his recent post on social media has vowed that he will never play for Andhra Pradesh again- a place where he lost his self-respect. Revealing the incident on social media, Hanuma Vihar took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “I was a captain in the first game against Bengal, and during the game, I shouted at the 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 [for a first-innings lead], I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine.

He further added, "I never said anything on a personal note to the player, but the association thought the player was more important than the guy who gave his body on the line last year and batted left-handed, took Andhra to the knockouts five times in the last seven years and played for India in 16 Tests."

Vihari also revealed that he felt humiliated and embarrassed about the incident but kept on playing throughout the season for the greater good. He said. "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 until today."

It feels so sad to see that even after so many years politics and sports are still intertwined which is one of the major reasons why we aren’t yet able to achieve our full potential in sports at the international level. Maybe the concerned authorities will listen to the plea of Hanuma Vihari and take action in this whole matter.