For years, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has been projected as a custodian of talent, the nursery that once produced the likes of ML Jaisimha, Mohammad Azharuddin, VVS Laxman, and a string of India internationals. But peel back the façade of cricketing pride, and one finds a cesspool of corruption, manipulation, and brazen looting of…
Manohar calls out decay and demands a clean-up MS Shanker In my continued quest to uncover ways to restore Hyderabad cricket to its rightful place in Indian cricket, I have been engaging with former players—those who may not have made headlines but whose connection to the game is rooted deep in legacy, values, and sincerity….
A Dynasty of Decline: Time for Shivlal to Step Aside MS Shanker As part of my ongoing series “Who Ruined Hyderabad Cricket,” this episode focuses on when and how the decline truly began. Much has been written—and far more whispered—about the rot in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). It all began with the rise of…
MS Shanker With top office-bearers under arrest and Hyderabad cricket administration in shambles, club members demand answers from acting chief Daljit Singh. In what is fast becoming a daily soap opera of administrative chaos and credibility erosion, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) finds itself once again under fire—this time not from investigative agencies or the…
MS Shanker If anyone believed that public outrage, investigative exposés, or even central agency scrutiny would clean up the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), last Sunday’s Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) proved otherwise. What unfolded on June 29 was nothing short of a farcical power-sharing exercise, where tainted officials, past manipulators, and compromised figures re-emerged in…
Dwaraka Ravi Teja Speaks Up on What Ails the System MS Shanker In my ongoing series to explore how Hyderabad cricket can reclaim its lost glory, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with several veterans who not only brought laurels to the state but also carried themselves with grace, integrity, and fierce independence. This week,…
Twelve days, a few hundred Iranian missile silos reduced to dust, and a Middle Eastern ceasefire—welcome to modern peacekeeping, Trump style. Forget Geneva conventions and UN diplomacy. Who needs shuttle talks and backchannel negotiations when you have B-52s and “fire and fury”? Donald J. Trump, the man who once threatened North Korea with “total destruction,”…
Let’s face it. In a democracy, debate is healthy. Even necessary. Accidents—no matter how tragic—deserve investigation, accountability, and introspection. But increasingly, a breed of journalists (or should we say activists with press cards?) has turned national tragedies into ideological rampages. Their factory-fitted outrage activates faster than any black box recorder—and the blame, of course, must…
By appointing Pakistan—a state long accused of nurturing, sheltering, and glorifying terrorism—as the Vice-Chair of its Counter-Terrorism Committee, the United Nations has once again shown why its credibility is in tatters. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, never known to mince words, rightfully called out this grotesque contradiction for what it is: “Asking a cat to…
Some achievements transcend politics. And then there’s the Chenab Bridge—towering at 359 metres above the riverbed, outstretched the Eiffel Tower by 35 metres, and standing proudly as the highest railway arch bridge in the world. It’s not just an engineering marvel; it’s a testament to India’s resolve to connect the remotest frontiers through sheer willpower,…
