Special Correspondent
Hyderabad’s cricket fraternity is running out of patience. The High Court-appointed Supervisory Committee, headed by Justice (Retd.) Naveen Rao, once seen as a ray of hope for cleansing the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), is now being branded “toothless” and “ineffective.”
Despite multiple police complaints, media exposés—including this very publication’s detailed investigations—and even ongoing probes by state agencies, the truncated apex council continues to function with impunity. The few remaining members—Vice-President Sardar Daljit Singh (now Acting as President), Joint Secretary Basavaraju, and Committee member Sunil Agarwal—are accused by stakeholders of exploiting their positions for personal and monetary gains.
Justice Rao’s committee was constituted by the Telangana High Court to “supervise” HCA’s functioning after a long trail of corruption, nepotism, and administrative anarchy. But the operative word—supervise—has rendered it powerless. Unlike the Supreme Court-appointed Justice L. Nageswara Rao, who had plenary powers to dissolve the HCA body, Justice Naveen Rao has none.
In simple terms, his committee can watch, record, and report—but cannot act. No suspensions, no veto, no financial oversight. It’s a watchdog without a bite. The predictable result: business as usual for those who have long treated the HCA as a personal fiefdom and a perpetual ATM.
Of the six elected apex council members, three are gone—three suspended after arrests by the state’s CID in connection with corruption and irregularities. Yet the remaining trio continues to run the show, making decisions on selections, contracts, and appointments.
Sources within the association allege that team selections and coaching appointments are being manipulated through middlemen, many of whom have resurfaced despite being earlier exposed for “cash-for-selection” rackets. The same old brokers and power peddlers are back in business—thriving because the supervisory committee has no authority to stop them.
“This is daylight looting,” says a former HCA official bluntly. “Everyone knows the game being played, yet no one dares to call stumps.”
The current mess also exposes the flawed legacy of Justice L. Nageswara Rao’s earlier intervention. Armed with Supreme Court powers to clean up the HCA, he promised a complete overhaul. Instead, insiders now allege his tenure ended midway, with little achieved and new controversies born.
A former police officer, promoted from the ranks and reportedly close to Justice Nageswara Rao, allegedly influenced contracts for stadium renovation works—such as changing canopies, replacing pavilion chairs, and refurbishing halls at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium—projects that collectively cost several crores. Many within the cricketing circle call it a “cleanup that dirtied the place even more.”
The result: Justice Nageswara Rao walked away, reforms unfinished, leaving the door wide open for the same power brokers and fixers to return.
By all accounts, Justice Naveen Rao appears sincere in intent but crippled by design. His committee lacks statutory powers to veto decisions or suspend corrupt officials. He cannot even overrule financial dealings or probe internal misdeeds.
Yet questions persist: why hasn’t he spoken out publicly against these constraints? Why accept a powerless role that only legitimizes corruption? Some critics bluntly call it a post-retirement sinecure—a paid supervisory job with no authority and little accountability.
If Justice Rao genuinely believes in reform, say several cricket lovers, he should either demand full powers from the High Court or step aside with a strong note of protest. Silence, they argue, will only deepen public mistrust.
Parents of aspiring cricketers—many of whom have approached the Rachakonda Police—allege that their children are being ignored despite merit, simply because they refuse to pay bribes or bend to influence. “Selections are a sham,” says a parent of an U-19 player. “Those who don’t pay are dropped. Even the Supervisory Committee knows this but does nothing.”
The HCA today stands as a symbol of how deep corruption can corrode even a game once considered sacred in Hyderabad. Justice Naveen Rao’s committee, shackled by legal limitations and apparent unwillingness to confront them, risks being remembered not as a reforming force but as a silent spectator.
If the High Court truly intends to salvage the association’s credibility, it must act decisively — dissolve the remaining Apex Council, empower Justice Naveen Rao with a minimum two-year term, and grant him a free hand to choose honest, upright, and credible former cricketers or any of whom he feel fit, to assist him in restoring faith in Hyderabad’s cricketing future.
Otherwise, the city that produced legends will remain hostage to brokers, fixers, and failed watchdogs.
