By Vinay Rao
For years, the prevailing wisdom around Hyderabad cricket has been one of resignation. Nothing changes, many said. The system is too entrenched, the networks too deep, the corridors of power too insulated from scrutiny. Corruption, nepotism, and selective governance, critics argued, had become features rather than flaws.
And yet, dissent has a way of finding its voice.
What began as a solitary effort by this publication to document administrative drift and structural decay within the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has now evolved into something far more consequential: institutional pushback from within. Senior club administrators—long part of the system, and deeply familiar with its inner workings—have stepped forward to publicly challenge the widening gap between performance and progression in Hyderabad cricket.
This shift did not happen overnight. It followed months of reporting that highlighted irregularities in team selection processes, the erosion of merit-based pathways, and the troubling placement of the Under-23 team under the jurisdiction of junior selectors—an administrative decision that fundamentally weakened the state’s competitive and developmental framework.
Those concerns were initially dismissed.
They no longer can be.
A Defining Moment for Hyderabad Cricket
With the Under-23 team announcement now imminent, Hyderabad cricket stands at a crossroads. This is not a routine selection exercise. It is a test of intent, of credibility, and of whether the system is capable of self-correction.
The Under-23 level is not junior cricket. It is senior cricket in preparation. It represents the final bridge between promise and professional responsibility—the stage where players are assessed not on reputation or potential, but on readiness, consistency, and competitive impact.
When this category was placed under junior selectors, it blurred that distinction. It weakened role clarity. It diluted accountability. And it raised a fundamental question: was the system still designed to produce first-class cricketers, or merely to manage participation?
This selection will answer that question—one way or the other.
From Advocacy to Institutional Validation
What transforms this moment from editorial advocacy into institutional reckoning is the recent intervention by senior figures from within the HCA ecosystem itself.
A delegation of club secretaries and former office bearers formally met members of the Apex Council and the HCA CEO to express serious concerns over discrepancies in selection across state teams. The group included Prakash Chand Jain, Amarnath, R. M. Bhaskar, Vanka Prathap, Ravinder Singh, Mahendra, and Vinod Kumar Ingle—administrators with decades of experience and deep institutional memory.
Their representation echoed, almost point for point, what this publication has documented over the past season: sustained league performers being repeatedly overlooked, while selections increasingly appear detached from measurable performance.
This was not a courtesy call.
It was a warning.
When individuals who have served the system for years begin to question its integrity, the issue ceases to be a matter of opinion. It becomes a matter of governance.
The Merit Question That Will Not Go Away
Across the season, league cricket in Hyderabad has produced a clear and consistent set of performers—players whose numbers, impact, and match influence are neither marginal nor subjective.
Among the batsmen, names like Mickhil Jaiswal, Rishikesh Sisodia, Chandan Sahani, Pranav Suryadevara, Sai Purnanand Rao, Sai Vikas Reddy, H. K. Simha, and Mayank Gupta have delivered across formats and conditions.
All-rounders such as N. Rishith Reddy, Jawad Khan, Aarya Udupa, and Krithin Kothapalli have contributed in both disciplines, offering balance rather than specialization.
Spinners including Ashish Srivastava, G. Arjun, Shaunak Kulkarni, and Ruthik Yadav have produced match-defining spells that directly influenced results.
These are not anecdotal claims. They are reflected in scorecards, match reports, and season aggregates.
Ignoring this body of work—at the precise moment when the Under-23 team is meant to represent Hyderabad’s most credible pathway to first-class cricket—would not merely be controversial. It would be indefensible.
Oversight and Responsibility
Under the current supervisory framework, the presence of Justice (Retd.) Naveen Rao as court-appointed overseer carries both authority and obligation. Oversight, by definition, is not ceremonial. It exists to ensure that due process is followed, structures are respected, and institutional credibility is preserved.
If this selection process descends into dispute, it will not only reflect on selectors or administrators—it will raise broader questions about the effectiveness of the supervisory framework itself.
A Chance to Reform, Not Just Repair
This moment is about more than damage control.
Handled correctly, the Under-23 selection can become a template for reform—a visible signal that performance still matters, that transparency still has value, and that course correction is possible even in a system long accused of institutional inertia.
There is also a competitive dimension that cannot be ignored. The talent pool exists. The data exists. The opportunity to field a genuinely strong side capable of contending for a national trophy is real.
What remains uncertain is the will to act.
An Appeal, Not an Ultimatum
This publication does not issue ultimatums. It makes an appeal—to selectors, administrators, and institutional custodians—to rise to the responsibility their positions carry.
Review the performances. Correct obvious imbalances. Select on evidence, not familiarity.
Because the cost of getting this wrong is not limited to one tournament. It affects trust across the entire ecosystem—players, clubs, coaches, and administrators who still believe that excellence should be the system’s primary currency.
Hence, the Under-23 team announcement will be more than a list of names.
It will be a statement.
It will either confirm the long-standing belief that nothing has changed—or mark the moment Hyderabad cricket chose correction over complacency, evidence over influence, and merit over convenience.
This is the chance to set a standard.
This is the chance to restore credibility.
This is the chance to win—on the field and beyond it.
It must not be wasted.
Excellent report
Hope the administration takes the issue seriously. There was is lot of hope on Justice Naveen Rao Garu. The initial euphoria has dwindled now and people feel nothing changes. There is too much discussion of wrong doing in selections. Not good for the game
every year they are breaking their own records. kabi tho sudhare ga ye association .
do you really think anything will change. some people in the names mentioned are also the reason for the problem.