Published: July 16, 2026 at 10:06 pm
‘Cricket first’ is the slogan of every administrator who comes to power in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) but a few months down the line, things take a different route.
Sources in the HCA say that secretary M Jeevan Reddy, who was unanimously elected earlier this year, had stated that cricket would be the priority of his administration and that he would work hard to revive the glory of Hyderabad cricket.
The league format has to undergo a major restructuring or else, the players will continue to suffer
However, the members feel that he has failed to them take into confidence. “The HCA has a long and cherished history and it cannot be made captive by a single individual or a coterie. Unfortunately, decisions are being taken without proper consultation with the stakeholders,” said a former office-bearer.
TG20 effect? HCA officials postpone start of league season at the 11th hour, raise a furore
The Hyderabad Cricket Association’s (HCA) unilateral decision to postpone the commencement of the 2026-27 league season at the last minute has not gone down well with the stakeholders of the cricket body.
‘Players had sought for postponement’
While many are disappointed with the turn of affairs, a few defended the postponement. By the way, the HCA has decided to start the league season on July 20, 2026.
The players had been seeking a postponement but there was no response from the COC, says a HCA member
“After the hectic TG20, the players deserve a break. It is not easy for them and many of them had asked for a decent break. Hence, the administrators took the decision to postpone the league,” said a member.
There are also indications that all is not well between the administrators and the Cricket Operations Committee (COC). “The COC is not available for consultation. The players had been seeking a postponement but there was no response from the COC. In fact, the administrators too had tried to reach out to the COC but they were unable to do so. Hence, in such a situation, they were forced to take the decision without the COC,” the member stated.
It is also learnt that the administrators are not too happy with former India player AT Rayudu’s ‘cold-shoulder attitude’ towards the TG20. “Why was Rayudu not pro-active during the TG20? He should have been available during the tournament for the players etc,” the source said.
Leagues put on the backburner, laments Prakash
However, senior member Prakash Chand Jain lashed out against the high-handed attitude of the administrators. He said the officials are going ga-ga about the ‘success’ of the TG20 tournament but have forgotten all about league cricket.
“The lifeline of the HCA is league cricket. How can the officials put the leagues on the backburner just to accommodate the TG20 tournament? The priority should be leagues as the players for the BCCI tournaments will be selected on the basis of the performance in the leagues,” he said.
The priority should be leagues as the players for the BCCI tournaments will be selected on the basis of the performance in the leagues
“I had a meeting with my team (Evergreen) players on Tuesday evening around 7.30 pm and spoke to them about the new season. At 10.34 pm we get a message that the matches have been postponed. Is this the way the administration functions? Were the administrators not aware of the gap between the TG20 and the start of the league season? How can such bungling happen?
“On top of it, there is no accountability as such. Who should be held responsible for the fiasco? Why was the Apex Council or the COC not taken into confidence before such a major decision,” he asked.
Prakash lauds courageous Rayudu
Prakash, who was a former vice-president and also the High Court appointed ad-hoc committee chairman, lauded Rayudu for showing immense courage in coming out in the open about the fiasco. “The COC, despite not being in the loop of things, still owned responsibility and apologized. It is quite magnanimous on Rayudu’s part to do so,” he said.
AT Rayudu with N Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub and Noel David during the launch of the TG20. “The COC, despite not being in the loop of things, still owned responsibility and apologized. It is quite magnanimous on Rayudu’s part to do so,” says Prakash Chand Jain
However, Prakash is unhappy with the format of the A Division league. “What use is the two-day league? We need to prepare players to play the four-day Ranji Trophy games and how is the 90-overs a side games going to help. At a time when Tamil Nadu has gone in for the longer version of the game in their leagues, why are we going backwards?
Restructure A Division league, says Prakash
“The A Division has been divided into three groups. Group A and B have seven teams each, while Group B has eight teams. In our group, we are not sure if AOC will play. Hence, the boys will get to play only five games and if rain decides to play spoilsport, then it will be even lesser. How will this format help in preparing the players?” he asked.
About the Super League, he said: “My boys (Evergreen) won a tournament last season but the conduct of the league matches was far from satisfactory. The administrators are only interested in the number of matches being conducted but not about the quality of play.”
Prakash said there should be fewer teams in the A Division and moots a four-day structure. “Let us have 6 to 10 teams in the A Division and let them play four-day games. That will prepare the players well for the Ranji Trophy games. The present format is not going to help the players much. The league format has to undergo a major restructuring or else, the players will continue to suffer,” he added.
