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 authority, discipline, and governance.
This is no longer an administrative grey area. It is a credibility test for the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
The Rule Exists. Is It Being Enforced?
The framework is unambiguous. HCA Bye-Law 31 prohibits members, players, officials, and associated persons from participating in unapproved tournaments and provides for disciplinary action.
Which leads to an unavoidable question:
If the rule exists, why does it appear negotiable?
When registered players walk into unsanctioned events without visible consequence, the authority of the association weakens. Governance cannot be selective. Enforcement cannot be discretionary.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India maintains a structured ecosystem precisely to protect integrity, discipline, and transparency. Hyderabad cannot afford to operate as an exception.
Easy Money, Expensive Consequences
The attraction is obvious — auction formats, instant payments, corporate sponsorships, and prize money that outstrips traditional club cricket.
But cricketing careers are not built on weekend windfalls.
A few years ago, three Under-25 players were banned following a drinking and fighting incident during a tournament. It was treated as an isolated lapse. It was, in truth, a warning about what happens when supervision, codes of conduct, and accountability weaken.
Unregulated environments expose young athletes to distraction, poor lifestyle choices, and short-term thinking. Easy money encourages inflated lifestyles. Inflated lifestyles dilute discipline. And diluted discipline quietly destroys careers.
Professional cricket demands structure. Remove structure, and the slide begins.
Private and NRI-Backed Leagues: The Governance Question
Reports of private and NRI-backed leagues operating without clarity on approvals raise deeper concerns. Some tournaments reportedly include players not eligible for official BCCI competitions. Others function with franchise-style auctions but without regulatory backing.
The questions are not hostile — they are necessary:
- Are these tournaments formally approved?
- Whether players are permitted to participate in private leagues — and under what conditions?
- If approval is absent, how are registered players taking part?
- Who ensures medical coverage, contractual safeguards, and anti-corruption compliance?
- What action will be taken against violations?
If the association is unaware, that signals a governance gap. If it is aware and inactive, that signals institutional weakness.
Neither scenario inspires confidence.
The Real Risk: Integrity and Accountability
Unregulated events lack anti-corruption education, integrity officers, dispute resolution mechanisms, and transparent financial monitoring. All it takes is one scandal — a fixing allegation, a payment dispute, a violent altercation — and the spotlight will shift to the governing body.
And when that happens, the defence that “it was a private tournament” will not suffice.
Responsibility flows upward.
Silence creates confusion and risk. Confusion weakens control. Risk invites crisis.
This Is Not Anti-Enterprise — It Is Pro-Protection
Let this be clear: this is not opposition to private initiatives. Structured, approved leagues with proper safeguards can strengthen the cricketing ecosystem and create opportunities.
But parallel systems operating without oversight endanger players and erode institutional credibility.
The call here is not to suppress growth — it is to regulate it.
Time for Clarity — Before Crisis
As the state’s governing authority, the Hyderabad Cricket Association must issue a transparent and public clarification:
- Which tournaments are officially approved?
- Whether registered players are permitted to participate in private leagues?
- What permissions are mandatory?
- What action will be taken against violations?
Ambiguity benefits no one.
Hyderabad has historically produced cricketers known for discipline and temperament. That legacy must not be compromised by short-term financial temptation and administrative hesitation.
This is a wake-up call.
Protect the players. Preserve the structure. Defend the credibility of Hyderabad cricket.
HCA must wake up to the risks now — before a preventable crisis damages careers and the game’s reputation.
