Players forced to sign letter Andhra Cricket Association exposes disturbing truth

Andhra cricketers were forced to sign the 'Letter of Support' which was shared by Hanuma Vihari on social media, according to the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), on Tuesday. ACA claimed that teammates were under threat to sign the letter.

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Vihari lashed out at the Andhra Cricket Association on Monday after being asked to step down as the team's captain. Hanuma Vihari said he was mistreated by the board and accused of political involvement after Andhra failed to advance to the Ranji Trophy 2024 semi-finals following a 4-run loss against Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

"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. 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," ACA said according to the report.

Andra board asked Hanuma Vihari to resign after Prudhvi Raj KN’s father who is also a politician made a complaint to the state association that he used foul language towards his son, who was the 17th player in the team. Furthermore, Hanuma Vihari stated that he never wanted to play for the Andhra cricket team again as he felt humiliated by the board’s treatment.

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Hanuma Vihari last played for India in a Test match

After this incident, he informed the Andhra Cricket Association to grant him a No-objection certificate (NOC) as he didn’t want to continue to play for the Andhra state team in the Ranji Trophy. However, the Andhra Cricket Association didn’t give him NOC.

However, the ACA claimed that players who called for Vihari's return as captain signed under duress. The state body also stated that several players and members of the support staff brought to the attention of the ACA difficulties with Vihari's conduct in the past.

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Hanuma Vihari last played for India in a Test match against England in July 2022 at Birmingham. He started his domestic career in 2010 for Hyderabad until 2015/16 season. He made a comeback for Hyderabad in the 2021-22 season. Later he moved to Andhra for next season.