5 times an Indian player spoke out against his state association ft. Hanuma Vihari
Hanuma Vihari has grabbed the headlines with his social media posts. The Indian batter has alleged that he was forced to resign as captain by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) during Ranji Trophy 2023/24.
Explaining the reason why ACA asked him to quit captaincy, Hanuma Vihari disclosed that he had a heated argument with the team's 17th player, KN Prudhviraj, who has a connection with politics.
Hence, Hanuma Vihari had to quit the position, and after the season ended, he even expressed his desire to quit the Andhra team.
In this listicle, we will look at five instances when an Indian player hit back at his state association.
#1 Hanuma Vihari
Starting the list with Hanuma Vihari himself. The middle-order batter penned a lengthy note on Instagram, explaining how he felt embarrassed when he had to quit captaincy. Here's what Vihari wrote:
"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 because I respect the game and my team. Sad part is association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say and players are there because of them," Hanuma Vihari added.
After sharing his story, Hanuma Vihari posted a picture of a letter. It was signed by many players of the Andhra team, who wanted Vihari back as the skipper.
#2 Dilip Vengsarkar
Former Indian batter Dilip Vengsarkar represented Mumbai during his playing days. After retirement, Vengsarkar noticed the downfall of Mumbai and called out the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) during an interview with The Times of India in 2020.
"It’s time the Apex council of MCA wakes up from its deep slumber and appoints the various cricketing committees before it’s too late," Vengsarkar said after MCA failed to rope in Wasim Jaffer and Chandrakant Pandit as coaches.
#3 Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh grew up representing Punjab at the domestic level. However, after his retirement, Harbhajan received several complaints about the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).
Speaking against his state board, Harbhajan wrote in a letter in 2022:
“For the last week or ten days, I have been receiving numerous complaints from cricket lovers in Punjab and several stakeholders that the PCA under the present President is resorting to lot of illegal activities which is against transparency and the spirit of cricket administration."
#4 Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir captained Delhi for a long time in domestic tournaments. During his playing days, Gambhir had to fight with The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) officials Bishan Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan for including Navdeep Saini in the team.
Apparently, DDCA did not wish to select Saini because he was from Haryana. However, Gambhir fought for him and brought him into the side. Eventually, when Navdeep earned a place in the Indian team, Gambhir posted the following tweet for DDCA officials in 2018:
“My ‘condolences’ to few DDCA members, @BishanBedi @ChetanChauhanCr on selection of ‘outsider’ Navdeep Saini to India squad. Am told black armbands are available in Bangalore too for INR 225 per roll!!! Sir, just remember Navdeep is an Indian first then comes his domicile @BCCI."
#5 Virender Sehwag
Another former Delhi player to feature on the list is Virender Sehwag. Back in 2009, when Sehwag was one of the main members of the Indian team, he spoke out against DDCA for unfair team selection and corruption. Senior players like Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma also joined him in his fight.
Arun Jaitley, the-then DDCA president, had to take steps to ensure that there was fair selection going forward.
"The demands of the players were well intended. The DDCA is ready to learn from its past mistakes," Jaitley said after solving the problems.
Sehwag even received an offer to play for Haryana at that time. He continued with Delhi after the problems were solved.