Hanuma Vihari steps down as Andhra captain to focus on batting; Ricky Bhui appointed new skipper

Andhra batter Hanuma Vihari has surprisingly stepped down as the captain of the domestic side after a solid effort against Bengal to kickstart the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season. The 30-year-old wants to prioritize his focus on batting, and as a result, wicketkeeper-batter Ricky Bhui has been appointed as the new captain for the rest of the season.

Vihari, who last played for India during the rescheduled Test against England in 2022, has not been in the fray in recent times, with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul stepping up for the middle-order roles.

Vihari scored a gritty 51 off 133, helping Andhra post 445 runs in the first innings and securing a valuable 36-run lead in Vishakapatnam.

“He (Vihari) has stepped down due to personal reasons. He wanted to focus on his batting more," new skipper Ricky Bhui said.

“The last season we played on difficult pitches — our home wickets were seaming — but this time we have good spinners so we made sure we play on different surfaces and batters also get good amount of runs. He (Vihari) got a good start in the last game also but couldn’t continue. We know he is capable of getting big hundreds, it is a matter of one knock (before) he gets his confidence back of getting big hundreds. I am sure he will come back to that rhythm," Bhui added.

Andhra are scheduled to play their next contest on Friday, January 12, against Mumbai, who decimated Bihar with a victory by an innings and 51 runs in Patna.

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Hanuma Vihari played one of the most memorable knocks of his career on this day in 2021 against Australia in Sydney

Vihari was touted as a long-term option in the Indian Test setup considering his traditional playing style. He has amassed 8,854 runs in 117 first-class games at an average of 52.70 but has only made 16 appearances at the international level.

The right-handed batter has been deployed at several positions throughout his career, but could not get a consistent run largely on the back of the success of the Pujara-Kohli-Rahane trio.

One of his most significant knocks came on January 11, 2021, when he scored 23 runs off 161 deliveries while battling an injury in the fourth innings of the third Test against Australia in Sydney to help India draw the match and remain alive in the series.

Vihari still has an excellent chance of making it to the Test fold, with none of the current contenders making a strong case for themselves, especially in overseas conditions.

Will the Andhra batter make a return to the Test side shortly? Let us know what you think.