“I have played for India representing Andhra, so my commitment to state cricket remains strong. There were reasons for my initial decision to leave, but I have been persuaded to stay. I feel valued for my contributions and am happy to continue playing for Andhra,”
Following Andhra’s close-fought defeat to Madhya Pradesh in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy Quarter Final, Vihari expressed his thoughts on leaving the state team due to political interference.
“I will never play for Andhra. I have lost my self-respect,” he said.
The capped cricketer publicly announced his departure as an engineered process by a politician whose son, was a teammate to Vihari.
“I never made any personal remarks to the player. However, the association deemed the player’s importance greater than mine, despite my contributions to Andhra’s cricketing success over the years, including representing India in 16 Tests. I felt embarrassed, but I continued playing this season out of respect for the game. Sad part is the association thinks that the players have to listen to whatever they say, and player are there because of them. I felt humiliated and embarrassed but I have not expressed it until today. I have decided that I will never play for Andhra where I lost my self-respect. I love the team. I love the way we are growing every season but the association doesn’t want us to grow,” Vihari cited via a social media post.
The right-handed batter expressed that the post made a political storm and members of TDP approached him, requesting to stay and represent the State for the upcoming season, to which, Vihari soulfully agreed.
