Vihari lashed out that he will lose his captaincy in the 2023-24 Ranji season over political interference and “he will never play for Andhra again”. On March 25, the ACA sent a notice to Vihari via email seeking an explanation for his comments. In his response, which was seen by ESPNcricinfo, Vihari said he had “thrown out the facts” about the “unfair” treatment he had received.
“I want to go out and play for another team. I have asked for a no-objection certificate for the ACA. I am waiting for a response,” Vihari told ESPNcricinfo.
On Thursday afternoon, PTI reported that the ACA issued the notice almost a month after Vihari raised objections to the manner in which he was sacked from the Andhra leadership and that he did not respond.
“Yes, we have issued a show cause notice to them and we are waiting for their reply,” an ACA official told PTI on condition of anonymity. “This is just to find out how they reacted last month. They have not reached out to us, so this is an opportunity for them to vent their grievances.
“After all, we value Vihari and his contributions to the growth of state cricket as he has played a huge role in Andhra’s ranking in domestic cricket.”
Vihari alleged in an Instagram post that he was forced to step down from the captaincy after Andhra’s opening round match against Bengal in January. At the time, he had cited “personal reasons” for the decision, but said on Saturday that it was true that the union had taken “action” against him due to political interference.
“I was the captain in the first match against Bengal, and during the game I shouted at the 17th player, and he complained to his father (a politician),” Vihari wrote. “His father in turn asked the association to take action against me. Even though we chased down 410 runs (for a first innings lead) against last year’s finalists Bengal, I was asked to resign from the captaincy through no fault of mine.
“I didn’t say anything on a personal note to the player, but the association felt that the player is more important than the guy who put his body on the line last year and batted left-handed, last time leading Andhra to the knockouts five times. Played for India in seven years and 16 Tests.
ACA issued a statement later the same day saying there were questions about Vihari’s leadership. “During the Bengal Ranji match, it has come to our attention that Vihari personally verbally abused a particular player in front of everyone,” the statement said. “The affected player has filed an official complaint with the ACA.”