S Venkateshwaran
I welcome this debate on whether the BCCI should amend its constitution to accommodate the genuine demand of the Telangana Cricket Association. As a former Secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), I consider it my responsibility to speak with honesty and clarity, drawing on my own experience
Let me admit upfront: there is abundant cricketing talent in the districts, but successive HCA administrations, including my own, have failed to nurture it adequately. While I made some efforts, they fell short of the scale required. I must therefore share the blame.
The district associations have long faced difficulties in accessing funds from the HCA. Even when funds were released, they were often irregular or inadequately monitored. If a robust mechanism had been put in place—ensuring timely release, strict oversight, and mandatory allocation for infrastructure and talent support—the story today would have been vastly different. Instead, neither the HCA nor the districts themselves established checks and balances. The result has been cumulative neglect.
The core objective should always have been to encourage young cricketers without bias, while making district administrators accountable for using resources sincerely and effectively. Unfortunately, when the leadership at the top faltered, it was unrealistic to expect district-level bodies to function with integrity, free from selfish motives.
The absence of a clear roadmap for district players has been the single biggest blunder. Had such a pathway been laid out, Hyderabad cricket itself would have been stronger, and many of today’s grievances would never have arisen. District players deserved opportunities, visibility, and the infrastructure needed to rise through the ranks. Instead, they were left behind.
HCA should have worked more closely with districts, treating them as equal stakeholders. Greater accommodation, regular dialogue, and a spirit of partnership could have yielded far better results. The current impression of being “left out” is entirely the creation of our own insular approach.
One important reform would have been regular audits of fund utilization. Transparent assessments could have prevented both financial irregularities and the deep sense of mistrust that now lingers. Even today, it is not too late to act. If HCA were to earmark separate funds for districts every season, enforce accountability, and ensure genuine decentralization, then the demand for a separate district association would lose much of its justification. After all, our bye-laws already cover every district within HCA’s jurisdiction.
At the heart of the issue lies one principle: decentralization. Unless we empower districts, democratize decision-making, and ensure resources flow directly to nurture grassroots talent, the problem will persist. As the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
I write this not in defense, but in apology. My tenure too fell victim to constraints and missed opportunities. Yet, if HCA and its administrators learn from past failures and embrace reform, Hyderabad cricket can still reclaim its lost promise. (The author is a former Secretary of HCA and President, Marredpally Sporting Cricketers)
