“I was captain in the first game against Bengal, and during the game, I shouted at 17th player, and he complained to his dad (who is a politician),” Vihari wrote. “His dad in return asked the association to take action against me. Although we chased 410 against last year’s finalists Bengal [for a first-innings lead], I was asked to resign from captaincy without any fault of mine.
Vihari said he had been “humiliated and embarrassed” in the aftermath of the episode, but carried on playing under Bhui as Andhra secured the second spot in Group B with three outright victories in seven matches.
“I felt embarrassed but the only reason I continued playing this season is because I respect the game and my team,” he said. “Sad part is association thinks that players have to listen to whatever they say, and players are there because of them. I felt humiliated and embarrassed, but I’ve not expressed it until today.”
Incidentally, Vihari ended the season against Madhya Pradesh, the team he had been tipped to move to and lead prior to the current season. Vihari had been in talks with Chandrakant Pandit, the Madhya Pradesh coach, and the association there over the possibility of playing as a professional, where he would been expected to shore up a strong batting line-up comprising Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer and Shubham Sharma among others.
However, that deal fell through at the last moment, the reasons for which neither party has specified. ESPNcricinfo understands that he was persuaded by ACA to stay on prior to the Duleep Trophy, where he led South Zone to the title.
Having started his career with Hyderabad, Vihari moved to Andhra in 2015-16. He then briefly returned to Hyderabad prior to the 2021-22 season before moving to Andhra again.
In his 16-match career, Vihari scored 839 runs at an average of 33.56 with his lone century coming in the West Indies.