I'll never play for Andhra again, lost my self-respect there: Vihari

BENGALURU: Lashing out at the Andhra Cricket Association for mistreatment, senior batter Hanuma Vihari on Monday said he will never play for the state again.

Andhra's campaign in the on-going Ranji Trophy came to an end when they lost to Madhya Pradesh by four runs in the quarterfinals on Monday.

"Sad part is the association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say and players are there because of them. I've decided that I'll never play for Andhra where I lost my self-respect.

"I love the team. I love the way we're growing every season but the association doesn't want us to grow," Vihari wrote on Instagram.

The middle-order batter, who has played 16 Tests for India, started the season as Andhra captain but stepped down after the first match against last year's runners-up Bengal.

Ricky Bhui led the team for the rest of the season, and he now leads the season's run chart with 902 runs.

At the time, Vihari attributed his decision to move away from leadership role due to "personal reasons" but now the right-handed batter said the association had asked him to resign.

"I was the captain in the first game against Bengal, during that 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, I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine," said Vihari.

The 30-year-old said he has put his body on the line for the team, recalling last year's Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Madhya Pradesh.

A forearm injury to his right-hand had forced him to bat left-handed in that game, but he could not prevent Andhra's ouster.

"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 5 times in the last 7 years and played for India in 16 Tests.

"I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season was because I respect the game and my team," he added.