There is nothing wrong with dreaming big. Telangana certainly deserves world-class sporting infrastructure. But when a government talks about building a cricket stadium even bigger than the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, one cannot help asking a rather inconvenient question: what about the stadium Telangana already has?
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s grand announcement of a gigantic new cricket stadium in the proposed Future City may sound impressive from the podium. Bigger than Ahmedabad! World-class! A new sporting landmark for Telangana! Wonderful.
But perhaps the Chief Minister should first look towards Uppal.
The existing Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is hardly a picture of administrative glory. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), which manages it, has for years been caught in a maze of allegations, financial controversies, internal disputes, litigation and investigations. The State Anti-Corruption Bureau has reportedly investigated alleged financial wrongdoing and named several former office-bearers and officials. Whether every allegation ultimately stands is for the investigating agencies and courts to determine. Why did the ACB prosecuted all whom it named? Is it not intriguing? Hence, the government cannot pretend that nothing has happened.
That is precisely where the Chief Minister’s grand stadium announcement begins to look less like a sporting vision and more like political optics.
Why announce the world’s biggest—or bigger-than-Ahmedabad—stadium when the government has not demonstrated the same urgency in cleaning up the administration of the existing one?
The question becomes even more uncomfortable because the Uppal stadium stands on government-leased land. There have been longstanding questions about the original lease arrangements, subsequent dealings and the circumstances surrounding its construction. Questions have also been raised about the involvement of private entities and the manner in which the facility was developed.
These are not questions invented yesterday by political opponents. They have been part of the public record and various legal and investigative proceedings for years.
So where is the urgency?
The Telangana High Court has directed investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the HCA. There have been demands for a senior police officer or an SIT to take the investigation forward. The Supreme Court-appointed Ombudsman, Justice L Nageshwar Rao, and other authorities have also examined the association’s affairs and flagged financial discrepancies.
Yet the saga continues.
Committees come and go. Office-bearers fight. Cases travel from one court to another. Allegations pile up. Stakeholders wait. And the government watches.
Now comes a spectacular new promise: build something even bigger than the Narendra Modi Stadium.
One cannot resist asking: Is the government planning to construct a bigger stadium before it can construct a cleaner system?
The irony becomes sharper when the Chief Minister himself has spoken about Telangana’s precarious financial position and the burden of debt and repayment obligations. His government has faced relentless criticism over its ability to deliver several electoral guarantees and commitments. Farmers, women, unemployed youth and other sections continue to demand answers on promises made before the 2023 Assembly elections.
And in this environment, a mega cricket stadium appears on the horizon.
Perhaps the government should first publish the complete financial blueprint. How much will this “world-class” stadium cost? Who will finance it? Who will own it? Who will operate it? What will be the revenue model? What guarantees will prevent it from becoming another expensive monument surrounded by allegations and litigation?
Most importantly, what mechanism will ensure that the alleged financial irregularities associated with the existing cricket administration cannot be replicated in the new project?
Because simply constructing a larger concrete structure does not create a better cricket ecosystem.
And frankly, the repeated comparison with Narendra Modi Stadium is unnecessary. Telangana should build because Telangana needs it—not because someone wants to prove that its stadium can be bigger than Ahmedabad’s. Cricket is not a political measuring tape.
The Chief Minister should therefore do something far more impressive than announcing a gigantic stadium.
Clean up the HCA.
Give the investigating agencies clear instructions to complete pending investigations within a reasonable timeframe. Implement court directions without bureaucratic delay. Establish responsibility wherever wrongdoing is proved. Prosecute those found guilty, regardless of their stature or cricketing credentials. And if allegations against someone do not stand scrutiny, clear that person publicly.
That would restore confidence.
That would send a stronger message than any foundation stone.
Nobody should oppose Revanth Reddy’s ambition to give Telangana a genuinely world-class cricket stadium. In fact, the cricket fraternity should welcome it—provided it is transparent, financially viable and professionally managed.
But there is a basic principle that governments should never forget:
Before building a bigger stadium, clean up the old one. Before promising world-class infrastructure, demonstrate world-class governance.
Otherwise, the proposed Future City stadium risks becoming merely another magnificent promise standing proudly over the unresolved ruins of the past.
Telangana deserves better than that.
