Special Correspondent
The slow decay of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) is no longer merely an administrative crisis. It has now evolved into something far more troubling — a test of institutional credibility. At the centre of this unfolding drama lies an uncomfortable question: why are crucial verdicts in cases concerning the future of Hyderabad cricket still pending before the Telangana High Court even after hearings have been completed and orders reserved?
The anxiety across Hyderabad’s cricketing circles is palpable. Club secretaries, former players and administrators who still care about the game are watching developments with growing unease. Their concern is simple: while the court deliberates, the very system under challenge is proceeding as though nothing is under judicial scrutiny.
Two critical cases remain undecided.
The first involves a petition filed by the Telangana Cricket Association questioning the legality of the HCA allowing a serving Minister to conduct a T20 tournament across districts in the name of his father — an act that the petitioners argue violates the norms laid down by the BCCI for its affiliated state associations.
The second relates to the suspension of former HCA Secretary Devraj, who has challenged the legality of his removal. His argument rests on a basic principle of jurisprudence: an accused cannot be treated as guilty before due process is completed.
Both matters have been heard. Both judgments have been reserved. Yet both remain pending — the TCA case for nearly three months and Devraj’s for the past few days.
Meanwhile, the HCA’s truncated Apex Council is moving ahead with plans to conduct elections for the posts of Secretary and Treasurer — a step many insiders say violates the association’s own rulebook and basic principles of fairness.
As if this were not enough, TCA General Secretary Guruva Reddy addressed a press conference on Thursday demanding a thorough judicial probe into the release of ₹69 crore to Visakha Industries.
This is where the situation becomes deeply unsettling.
When the legality of membership lists, voting rights and even the composition of the general body itself are under judicial scrutiny, pushing through elections risks turning the entire exercise into a constitutional farce. Once the process is completed, reversing it becomes far more complicated, potentially dragging the game into years of litigation.
Concerned club secretaries have already begun sounding the alarm.
One such secretary has formally written to the election authorities pointing out that the voters’ list dated July 19, 2025 — which forms the basis of the proposed elections — is itself under challenge before the High Court in WP No. 25015 of 2025. The petition questions the exclusion of several member clubs from the General Body, the legality of the adjourned 87th Annual General Meeting, and decisions of the Apex Council affecting voting rights.
The logic is unassailable. If the legitimacy of the electorate itself is under judicial consideration, conducting elections on that basis may render the entire process legally vulnerable.
But the larger concern lies elsewhere.
The affairs of the HCA are presently under the supervision of former judge Justice P. Naveen Rao, appointed by the High Court to restore order to an association long plagued by factionalism and allegations of corruption. Yet critics argue that the situation has deteriorated further under this oversight.
Questions are being raised about the hurried appointment of election authorities, the selection of an ombudsman, and the rapid scheduling of nominations, withdrawals and voting within an unusually compressed timeframe.
For many in Hyderabad cricket, the pace appears less like reform and more like a race against time.
Behind the scenes, whispers of political influence refuse to fade. Allegations continue to circulate about powerful interests that once benefited from controversial financial decisions involving stadium construction and massive payouts from HCA funds. These matters have been debated for years in public forums and courtrooms alike.
Whether those allegations hold legal merit is for the courts to decide.
But what cannot be ignored is the perception now taking root among ordinary cricket stakeholders — that delay itself may be enabling the very irregularities under challenge.
Courts, by their very nature, must move carefully. Judicial restraint and due process are the bedrock of the rule of law. No one expects hurried judgments in complex matters.
However, when verdicts are reserved yet remain pending while potentially irreversible administrative actions continue outside the courtroom, the optics become deeply troubling.
The reputation of the judiciary rests not only on the quality of its judgments but also on the timeliness of its interventions.
Hyderabad cricket today stands on the brink. Once a proud nursery of talent that produced legends like Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, it is now reduced to an arena of endless court battles and administrative intrigue.
Players suffer. Clubs remain divided. Development stagnates.
And the game bleeds quietly.
The Hon’ble judges of the Telangana High Court hold the key to restoring clarity. The cases have been heard. The issues are known. The cricketing community now waits — not for favour, but for finality.
For in sport, as in justice, uncertainty is the most corrosive outcome of all.
The time has come to speak through judgment.
Not only to save Hyderabad cricket — but to reaffirm the enduring faith people place in the courts that guard the rule of law.
