Who Ruined Hyderabad Cricket – Part XXIV

MS Shanker

From Glory to Greed

For three decades, Hyderabad was the envy of Indian cricket. From the swagger of M.L. Jaisimha in the 1970s to the artistry of Mohammad Azharuddin in the 1980s and the resilience of V.V.S. Laxman in the 1990s, the city produced cricketers who defined eras. Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) was not just a body; it was a proud nursery of world-class talent. That golden stretch between 1970 and 2000 gave fans heroes and gave Indian cricket a backbone of artistry and grit.

But legacies, like empires, can be squandered. What followed after 2000 was nothing short of betrayal. Ironically, the same Test stars who were once adored for their brilliance on the field turned into administrators who presided over its downfall. Instead of nurturing new talent on merit, they institutionalized “pay to play.” Aspiring cricketers, no matter how talented, were sidelined unless they paid their way or were well-connected. Nepotism, favouritism, and the utter disregard for merit became the new selection policy.

The tragedy does not stop there. These men did not merely poison the game’s credibility — they bled its coffers dry. Stadium construction became a money-making scheme. Renovation projects became cash cows. Selection processes were twisted into rackets. What should have been a transparent sporting association became a goldmine for officials and their cronies.

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It is no surprise, therefore, that three former Test cricketers — once icons of the city — now find themselves entangled in multiple criminal cases, along with 25 to 30 other former office bearers. These cases, ranging from corruption to misappropriation, have crawled through the corridors of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Telangana High Court, and even the Supreme Court. Some have already been subjected to grilling by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax department. Yet, despite years of evidence and public outcry, justice has moved at a snail’s pace, while Hyderabad cricket continues to languish.

The mess was so deep that the Supreme Court itself had to intervene. Various committees and judicial officers were appointed over the years in an attempt to sanitize the body. At different stages, a Supervisory Committee was put in place, and even a one-man Ombudsman — former Justice L. Nageswara Rao — was entrusted with powers to untangle the association’s affairs. Their mandate was not only to restore transparency but to enforce structural reforms, including rooting out conflicts of interest that had hollowed out the institution.

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But even these interventions raised fresh questions. Justice Rao did suspend 57 clubs under the “conflict of interest” clause, but powerful figures were allegedly spared. Shivlal Yadav, once the face of Hyderabad cricket administration, escaped censure. So did Dalit Singh, the present Acting President of the HCA, who not only controlled two clubs but also maneuvered his way into the Vice President’s chair. His ally, a retired official from the state commercial tax department, Basavaraju, was conveniently accommodated as Joint Secretary.

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This selective cleansing has left a bitter taste. Was the judiciary misled by insiders like Durga Prasad, a police officer attached to Rao’s team? Or was it another case of the powerful finding a way to stay above scrutiny? The answers remain blurred, but the consequences are visible: the credibility of Hyderabad cricket is in tatters, and the body tasked with running the sport resembles a syndicate more than an association.

Hyderabad’s tragedy is that its heroes became its villains. The very men who once inspired a generation with bat and ball are now remembered more for scams and court cases than for centuries and wickets. This is not just an institutional collapse; it is a betrayal of the city’s cricketing culture, its aspiring players, and millions of fans who once filled Lal Bahadur Stadium with pride.

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This series now turns its lens to the investigative reports, especially the damning findings compiled by Justice Nageswara Rao’s 59-page report, as well as forensic auditors like Ernst & Young. Their pages reveal the anatomy of the loot — from inflated invoices to phantom tournaments, from siphoned funds to double billing. For investigators, it is a ready-made charge sheet. For cricket lovers, it is the saddest story of how greed devoured a legacy.

The ruins of Hyderabad cricket were not accidental. They were engineered. And the names behind that engineering are no longer hidden. (To be concluded)

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