Special Reports
Special Correspondent For an institution that has lived in controversy for nearly two decades, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) still manages to find newer depths. This time, however, the rot has not been exposed by a rival faction, a police raid, or a court order—but by a letter written by one of its own former…
It is a well-established reality that economic opportunities within India are unevenly distributed. Only certain regions are capable of providing sustainable livelihoods to large populations, making migration within the country a natural phenomenon. However, when highly educated and skilled professionals migrate abroad in search of better financial rewards, career growth, and superior living standards, the…
By Vinay Rao On the surface, Hyderabad cricket has enjoyed a season that deserves applause. The Under-19 boys lifting the prestigious Vinoo Mankad Trophy and the senior team’s spirited campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy should have been celebrated as milestones of revival and promise. Yet, scratch beneath that glossy veneer and a far…
If you are unable to meditate—if your mind keeps chattering and nothing seems to work—simply feel that you do not know anything. The moment you drop the burden of knowing, you will find yourself sinking deep within. Your intellect is only a small part of your total consciousness. But when you get trapped there, you…
Vinay Rao Aaron George, a name long familiar in Hyderabad’s junior cricket circles, is now beginning to command attention on a far wider stage. The past year has been particularly rewarding for the young cricketer. It began with him being part of history as Hyderabad lifted the Vinoo Mankad Trophy for the first time, and…
My cricketing journey began in 1960, in a very different India and an even more different Hyderabad. There were no academies, no video analysis, no floodlit nets. What we had instead were heroes—real ones—roaming the streets of Secunderabad, close enough to touch, observe, and quietly dream about becoming. Names like C. D. Thangaraj, Samluck, and…
When an exposé begins to hurt, those thriving on rot inevitably strike back—not with facts, but with intimidation, insinuation and entitlement. That moment has arrived. Following the publication of this e-paper’s article, “When Merit Is Benched: How HCA Keeps Sabotaging Its Own Future,” a private academy promoter—widely known in cricketing circles as a “broker,” though…
Althea Neale Gibson stands as a towering figure in American sports history—not merely for her extraordinary athletic achievements, but for her courage in shattering racial barriers during one of the most segregated periods in American life. Born on August 25, 1927, in Silver, South Carolina, Gibson would go on to become the first Black athlete…
Special Correspondent Indian cricket’s greatest enemy has never been lacking of talent. It has always been the small, suffocating cabals that fear talent. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) seems determined to prove that this disease is alive, thriving, and once again ruining the career of a promising young cricketer—not because he failed, but because he…
It takes a seasoned statesman to turn a baseless jab into a masterclass in democratic decorum. And it takes Rahul Gandhi—the self-styled philosopher prince of Indian politics—to offer that opportunity with clockwork regularity. The latest viral video from Parliament captures a moment that perfectly distils the difference between a responsible Prime Minister and an eternally…
