Hanuma Vihari signs for Tripura ahead of 2025-26 season, says he is ‘Still good enough to play all three formats’.
‘Still good enough to play all three formats’ – Hanuma Vihari after signing with Tripura for 2025-26 season.
Ahead of the 2025–2026 domestic season, India batsman Hanuma Vihari has joined Tripura as one of their three pros. The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has given Vihari a no-objection certificate (NOC), after he was named Player of the Tournament in the just finished Andhra Premier League.
Vihari’s deal is initially for a season and can be extended with both parties’ approval. He claims that the decision was made because he wanted to play all formats, something Andhra was unable to provide.
“I was keen on other opportunities since I believe I’m good enough to play all three formats,” Vihari told. “Andhra made it clear they were looking at youngsters for the T20 format. That was why I decided it didn’t make sense playing even the 50-over format, so I sat out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. I also wanted to play in a new environment.”
With Vihari’s signing, Andhra’s somewhat turbulent recent years come to an end. The reaction he received from some ACA sections left him “humiliated and embarrassed” following a full-fledged public disagreement following their 2023-24 Ranji campaign. Vihari resigned as captain at the beginning of that season, citing “political interference” as one of the reasons.
Vihari was in negotiations to relocate to Madhya Pradesh (for the second consecutive year) prior to the 2024–25 season, but Nara Lokesh, general secretary of the TDP, the dominant party in Andhra Pradesh, talked him out of it. The MPCA was upset by Vihari’s reversal of course.
“For the last two seasons, I’d been talking of going out [he’d been in talks with Madhya Pradesh], but I stayed back,” Vihari said of the previous season. “I felt given the circumstances around me, and also where my own cricket is at, this was the best time to sign with an upcoming team. This year they approached me first, and I felt it’ll be a challenge worth taking up.”
“My challenge is to take the team through. After 14-15 years of first-class cricket, I’ve certainly got that experience that I want to pass on. But I’m not thinking of a comeback just yet. It’s too far away. I want to score runs, important runs and then take the team through. More than anything, I just want to enjoy my cricket and score lots of runs.”