"Play this sympathy games, however u want"- Andhra cricketer hits back after Hanuma Vihari's accusations

Andhra cricketer KN Prudhviraj reacted to Hanuma Vihari's accusations about political interference in team matters and the rift between the two players.

Earlier today, Vihari took to his Instagram handle and announced his decision to quit the Andhra team after several successful seasons. It came after Andhra lost by four runs against Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-final of the Ranji Trophy 2024.

He also expressed his frustration and disappointment about the treatment of the team management and officials towards him over the past year. Vihari also cited it as the reason he would never return to the team in the future.

He opened up that a conflict with a substitute player was the root cause of everything. The player, who is the son of a politician, influenced the team management to remove Vihari as captain of the Andhra team.

Even though Hanuma Vihari did not disclose any names in his post, Andhra wicketkeeper KN Prudhviraj responded to it with an Instagram story, clearing things up for fans.

Prudhvi refuted his senior's claims and opined that he was trying to gain sympathy. He wrote:

“I am that guy you are searching in that comment box. Whatever you guys heard is absolute false, no one is higher than the game and my self-respect is much bigger than anything. Personal attacks and vulgar language is unacceptable in any platform. Everyone in the team knows what has happened that day. Play this sympathy games, however you want."

Kuntrapakam Narsimha Prudhvira's Instagram story on the matter.

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Andhra Players sign an open letter in support of Hanuma Vihari

Amid the ongoing controversy, several Andhra players have extended support to their former captain Hanuma Vihari. In a latter addressed to the association, they expressed their desire to see him back at the helm of things.

The letter read:

“A complaint has been issued by a fellow teammate in the Ranji squad that Vihari has used foul language and has approached him aggressively, but 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 in getting the best out of the team, and it has been used since long ages in team dressing rooms.”

“Unfortunately, one of the team members took it personally. We all 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 and as you can see the team has done very well and united in his leadership and also qualified more than 7 times under his leadership," it added.

What is your take on the above controversy in the Andhra cricket team involving Hanuma Vihari? Let us know your views in the comments section below.