The Andhra Cricket Association came up with a bombshell response to Hanuma Vihari’s controversial remarks on Prudhvi Raj KN.
Andhra Pradesh crashed to a narrow four-run defeat against Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final fixture on Monday. It was a close encounter but Madhya Pradesh came out on top in a nail-biting thriller.
The heartbreak for Andhra Pradesh didn’t just end there. After the match, star batter and former captain Hanuma Vihari came up with sensational accusations towards the Andhra Cricket Association and also towards a teammate. In a controversial statement posted on Instagram, Vihari disclosed the circumstances leading up to his departure from captaincy. He revealed that he was asked to resign from captaincy after an altercation with a player, who happened to be the son of a “prominent politician”.
Soon, Andhra cricketer Prudhvi Raj KN took to Instagram and revealed that he was the cricketer Vihari spoke about. but Prudhvi had a different take on the situation and accused Vihari of abusing him.
In an attempt to put an end to the social media war, Andhra Cricket Association came forward with an official statement, where they also threw accusations towards the India cricketer.
In their statement, Andhra Cricket Association said, “Addressing the reported issue, it has come to our attention that Mr. 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.”
The association also explained the captaincy change in the statement. The statement revealed, “In January 2024, 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 association also went on to allege that they received complaints from Vihari’s teammates, support staff and ACA administrators about the batter’s use of foul language and abusive behaviour.
Vihari himself took to Twitter to share the statement.
Here is the full statement of Andhra Cricket Association:
ACA also accused Vihari of frequently seeking a No Objection Certificate to move to other state teams, but swiftly reversing the decision. The board went on to further state that they would conduct an inquiry into all the complaints.