Inside the System: A Veteran Secretary D Kishen Rao Speaks Out
In the course of writing this long-running series over the last few months, I’ve interacted with a range of voices—from former state players to disgruntled selectors—trying to piece together how Hyderabad cricket, once a proud nursery of the sport, fell into its current state of rot. But few conversations were as enlightening as the one I recently had with D. Kishen Rao, one of the longest-serving secretaries of an affiliated club of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA)—Navjeevan Friends Cricket Club.
Incidentally, I once played for the same club before choosing journalism as my path. So, the chat with the 72-year-old Rao wasn’t just a catch-up with an old acquaintance—it turned out to be a revealing dissection of HCA’s moral and administrative collapse.
Let me clarify right at the outset—I’m not here to claim every secretary or club official in HCA is “doodh se dhula hua”, to borrow the phrase from a high-ranking police officer whose passion for the game is well-known and whose words I take seriously. But it’s important to recognize and amplify the voices of those willing to speak with brutal honesty—people like Kishen Rao, who admit their own faults and expose those who have hidden for too long behind reputations and political clout.
Rao recalls a time when the game was run on passion, not profit. “There was no money in cricket then,” he says. “But there was accountability. Administrators worked selflessly to promote the sport. We were proud of every rupee spent, and even prouder when Hyderabad won.”
He fondly remembers the 1986–87 season when, during his early terms as an executive committee member (elected on the Players’ Panel), the Hyderabad team swept every major tournament, including the prestigious Ranji Trophy. That era, in many ways, was the last true golden age of Hyderabad cricket.
The downfall, as per Rao, began around the early 2000s, when HCA became flush with funds, courtesy of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s booming media rights and commercial expansion. “Money started flowing in. And that’s when vultures circled,” he says.
Over the next two decades, several HCA office-bearers—some of them former Test stars—transformed the association into their fiefdoms. “The very cricketers who were expected to uphold Hyderabad’s legacy indulged in nepotism, corruption, and money laundering. Instead of giving back to the game, they looted it.”
As per Rao, between 30 to 40 individuals, including senior players-turned-administrators, now face investigation from agencies like the ACB, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax Department, and, more recently, the State CID.
While Arshad Ayub and others have been rightly exposed in earlier episodes of this series, Rao also sheds light on another key figure—late Ranga Reddy, a former HCA Secretary. “It was during his tenure that institutional teams like the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (now GHMC), which owned several grounds, were allowed to change hands. This destroyed the structural base of the sport,” Rao alleges.
He also accuses Ranga Reddy of following in the footsteps of his mentor, P.R. Mansingh, who notoriously encouraged individuals to control multiple clubs—a practice that continues to warp Hyderabad’s club ecosystem from mere 40-50 to 200 plus today.
Though Rao once aligned with the Players’ Panel, he is unsparing in his criticism of its long-term impact. “The greed of former Test cricketers like Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub, and Mohammad Azharuddin was the biggest blow to HCA. They politicized selections, normalized corruption, and introduced a ‘pay-to-play’ culture that now infects every level—from U-14 to the Ranji Trophy.”
He alleges that these power brokers—masquerading as presidents, secretaries, or backroom bosses—interfered in every selection, pressured selectors, and sidelined talent in favour of moneyed or connected players.
“The HCA became a business. A racket. A disgrace,” he says without mincing words.
Rao grudgingly credits Shivlal Yadav for overseeing the construction of the Uppal stadium—a world-class facility gifted land by the then-state government. “But even that project was marred by allegations of kickbacks during the signing of MoUs with private investors,” he says.
The stadium, a symbol of Hyderabad’s cricketing pride, thus stands on foundations tainted with suspicion and controversy.
For Hyderabad cricket to rise again, Rao insists that the first step is to expel the ghosts of these corrupt power centers. “Many of them are no longer in official positions, but they still crave influence—eyeing plum posts like Director of Cricket Academies or Consultants, drawing fat paychecks without accountability.”
He pins his hopes on the Justice Naveen Rao Committee, appointed by the Telangana High Court. The committee now has a clear mandate to conduct leagues and oversee the selection process. “Only someone with integrity, free from club affiliations and vested interests, can enforce clean selections,” Rao says.
He supports implementing the Lodha Committee’s core reform: selection committees must be free from club memberships to eliminate conflict of interest.
Rao advocates equitable development across all 10 erstwhile districts of Telangana. “We must have turf wickets and mini stadiums in every district. Look at Tamil Nadu and Karnataka—they’ve invested in infrastructure beyond just their capitals. Why can’t we?”
He also demands full financial transparency in HCA operations, an honest CEO without political strings, and continued surveillance by investigative agencies to keep ex-cricketers-turned-racketeers in check.
- Kishen Rao’s testimony is just one among many—but it comes from someone who has seen the rise and fall of Hyderabad cricket from within. His reflections are not those of a bitter insider, but a man disillusioned by the greed of those who once wore the whites with pride.
This fight is no longer just about reviving Hyderabad cricket. It’s about restoring trust, integrity, and merit. And it begins with a broom—sweeping out every shadow that has darkened the corridors of the HCA. (I appeal to all club secretaries and stakeholders who still hold the game close to their hearts—speak up. If you have the courage and conscience, now is the time to come forward. Lend your voice, your experience, and your insight to the probing agencies and to High Court-appointed committees like that of Justice Naveen Rao. Your testimony and suggestions could be vital in cleansing the system and shaping a new era for Hyderabad cricket—one rooted not in personal gain, but in the spirit of the sport we all once loved. – Author/Editor)
