Hyderabad’s cricket corruption scandal deepens as parents allege massive age-fraud, bribery in state team selections
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has once again landed in controversy — this time with angry parents knocking on the police’s doors over what they call “daylight corruption” in team selections for the state’s U-19 and U-23 squads.
Despite the Telangana High Court’s intervention and the appointment of a supervisory committee led by Justice Naveen Rao, the truncated HCA apex council — now under “acting” leadership after the arrest of three office-bearers — appears to be defying all norms. Allegations of age fraud, cash-for-selection, and manipulation of match records have pushed Hyderabad cricket into a fresh credibility crisis.
Two parents — Ananth Reddy and Dr. Rama Rao — have approached the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate, alleging that selectors handpicked banned players and excluded deserving youngsters who refused to pay bribes. The duo has been advised to file formal complaints at the Uppal Police Station, under whose jurisdiction the HCA office falls.
“We know we’re risking our children’s cricketing careers, but enough is enough,” said Ananth Reddy. “Selectors are openly demanding between ₹10 lakh and ₹30 lakh — first to include players in the 30-member probables list, and later to secure them a final spot in the 15-member squad. Crores are changing hands while everyone, including the court-appointed supervisory committee, watches helplessly.”
Reddy alleged that 38 players banned by the High Court for submitting fake age and domicile certificates were shockingly found in the final team lists. “It’s a mockery of justice,” he said, adding that even the selection match scores and umpiring records were manipulated to favor certain players.
The parents have urged state investigating agencies and the Justice Naveen Rao panel to take immediate action before the tournaments begin, warning that the integrity of Hyderabad cricket is being “auctioned in broad daylight.”
What’s more alarming, sources within HCA admit that the acting President and Joint Secretary, both of whom assumed charge by default after their colleagues’ arrests, are directly influencing selections through a nexus of selectors and middlemen. “This is no longer mismanagement — it’s organized corruption,” said one insider unwilling to be named.
Observers note that this is the first time in HCA’s history that parents have publicly approached the police against the association’s selection process — a sign of just how broken the system has become.
While the Justice Naveen Rao committee was tasked with cleaning up the rot, its inability to rein in the brazen defiance of the acting apex council has raised serious questions.
As the state teams prepare to begin their campaigns, the larger question looms: Will the BCCI finally intervene to save Hyderabad cricket?
“If fake players and corrupt officials go unpunished, what future do genuine cricketers have?” asked Dr. Rama Rao. “This is not selection — it’s a sale.”
Unless swift action is taken, parents warn, the “pay-to-play” model could soon destroy what little remains of Hyderabad’s cricketing legacy.
