Follow UsIndia and Andhra cricketer Hanuma Vihari recently announced that he’s moving states in domestic cricket, and will now ply his trade for Tripura in all three formats of the game. Vihari, who had earlier also made plans to switch states to Madhya Pradesh, was convinced to stay in the Andhra setup by a Telugu Desam Party minister, as per reports in the Indian Express.
However, not being picked in the T20 side became the main reason for Vihari to leave his home state.
“Last season, ACA [Andhra Cricket Association] informed me about not getting picked for T20s, then I told them I don’t want to play ODIs [Vijay Hazare Trophy] either,” Vihari told the Indian Express.
“They told me they wanted to try younger players. I feel I still can play three formats, so…I got an opportunity from another place, so I wanted to try.”
Vihari was the Player of the tournament in this year’s Andhra Premier League, where he scored 299 runs at an average of 59.8 and a strike rate of 148.02. He added that not being in contention for T20 side made him feel disrespected as he was being deliberately ignored despite putting up performances, and there was no better player to replace him in the side for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“Last year, when Andhra decided not to play me…if there are better options than (me) it is fine, but when they are not there and still I am not part of the side for the last two years…I have stayed for the Andhra side and players in it; somewhere, I felt I did not get the due respect I deserve,” Vihari said.
“I did not want to wait and see if they were going to select me or not. As a professional player, I felt I would be respected elsewhere, and I have the option to take the opportunity, so I want to take it.”
31-year-old Vihari has already played 16 Test matches for India, where he scored 839 runs at an average of 33.56. He has also played 131 first-class, 97 List-A and 89 T20 games in domestic cricket.