Special Reports
By A Correspondent It began, quite innocently, over breakfast at a star hotel in city. Coffee was being poured. Toast arrived on cue. Conversations hummed with the usual social politeness. And in one corner of the room, democracy was apparently being concluded. A tight circle had formed around a powerful figure from the government —…
Special Correspondent For nearly 15 years, elections in the Hyderabad Cricket Association have followed a depressingly predictable script: alliances stitched together before polling day collapse the moment results are declared. What follows is not governance, but guerrilla warfare — suspensions, counter-suspensions, court petitions, police complaints, factional press conferences, and eventually administrative paralysis. Instead of headlines…
Vinay Rao Hyderabad cricket is not merely drifting — it is sleepwalking into a storm. Across the city, unapproved private tournaments, auction-based leagues, and cash-driven corporate matches are mushrooming at alarming speed. Registered state and even Ranji players are participating openly. What is being dismissed as “off-season opportunity” is, in reality, a structural challenge to…
By Vinay Rao This is no longer about cricket. It is about control. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) stands at the edge of yet another internal rupture — not between reformers and traditionalists, not between competing visions for the game — but between ambition and entitlement. Behind the scorecards, beneath the smiling press conferences, a…
The health of a state’s governance is often reflected not in its speeches, but in its records — land records, property registrations, mutation files, and title deeds. In Telangana today, that vital administrative backbone — the Revenue Department — appears to be in visible distress. What should have been a model of streamlined governance risks…
By Vinay Rao A Satirical View As the IPL circus rolls into Hyderabad, fans are busy debating strike rates, death bowling, and playoff chances. Meanwhile, seasoned watchers of cricket administration know that the most competitive tournament in town doesn’t always involve bat and ball. Welcome to the annual Hyderabad Premier League of Opportunities—a fast-paced event…
By Vinay Rao Once upon a time, Indian parents wanted their sons to become engineers, doctors, or at least government officers. In 2026, they want only one thing: a state cap and, if destiny permits, a dugout selfie in the Indian Premier League. Welcome to the golden age of cricket — where talent is optional,…
By Alekya Pratap Neelakantam As an academician and an ordinary karyakarta of the world’s largest political party, I have spent years studying policy and participating in grassroots activism. But rarely have I felt as personally moved as I did when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared, “It is my conviction that women will play the most…
Winning and losing are inseparable parts of sport. Even the greatest teams fall. But what unfolded against South Africa on Sunday night was not merely a defeat — it was a capitulation. For a side stacked with world-class talent, losing by 70 runs without mounting a credible fight is unacceptable. The setting magnified the disappointment….
India today stands at a legal paradox. We possess one of the world’s most sophisticated constitutional systems—rich with safeguards, procedural checks, and layers of appeal. Yet, the ordinary citizen feels increasingly vulnerable, the offender feels increasingly emboldened, and the victim is often left as a ghost in the courtroom. The fundamental question is no longer…
