Hanuma Vihari denies Madhya Pradesh move, to continue as captain for Andhra in Ranji Trophy this season

Hanuma Vihari decided against moving to Madhya Pradesh team in domestic cricket and will stay with Andhya for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. The experienced batter was reportedly looking for Madhya Pradesh move but was denied NOC (No Object Certification) from Andhra team.

The domestic veteran was looking for a team change to target his international return in red-ball cricket. He endured a poor season with Andhra last season but made headlines this month for captaining South Zone side to Duleep Trophy glory.

The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) CEO Siva Reddy confirmed Vihari’s decision to stay with the team for the upcoming season. Reddy revealed that the NOC was not cleared for the batter and the association is pleased with the player staying with Andhra.

“Although he expressed interest in moving, the NOC (No Objection Certificate) was not granted. Nevertheless, we are pleased that he has chosen to remain with us,” Siva Reddy said.

Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) also confirmed Vihari’s interest in Madhya Pradesh team move. Association’s CEO Rohit Pandit said that there is enough time to solve the matter and things are yet to be finalized. Cricbuzz also reported that the player has confirmed his decision to stay with Andhra. “Vihari did show interest initially, but we have not finalized anything. There is ample time for this matter to be resolved,” Rohit Pandi said.

The 29-year-old batter started his domestic career with Hyderabad and then moved to Andhra team prior to 2016-17. He has scored 8748 runs from 115 First Class matches with an impressive average of 53.01 with 23 centuries and 3397 runs from 93 List A games with an average of 42.46 so far. He made his Test debut in September 2018 and scored 839 runs from 16 matches at an average of 33.56 having last played in July last year.

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