HCA has orphaned Telangana cricketers

The Bombay High Court has asked the BCCI to hear the TCA and respond in six weeks.

The Telangana Cricket Association has sought to become an associate member of the BCCI.

The Secretary of the Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), Dharam Guruva Reddy, said that "eighty per cent of the Telengana State cricketers, representing a massive geographical area outside of Hyderabad and across all age groups do not come under of the ambit of the BCCI activities and hence its benefits," and that’s the reason the TCA approached the Bombay High Court seeking a BCCI directive to grant it Associate Membership.

"Previously, ten districts of the undivided Andhra Pradesh fell under the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). The HCA ignored the cricketers of the nine districts and left them like nobody’s children in the last 70 years. Today, Telangana has 31 districts including Hyderabad, but it’s the TCA which is in the forefront of the cricket activities in 30 districts. We are being supported by the Government of Telangana which has given us the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium (Fateh Maidan) and other grounds to run 29 leagues and 1400 BCCI format matches. We have 42 coaches trained by former India player Abid Ali,’’ Reddy, who was captain of the Osmania University in the mid 1990s, said.

The Bombay High Court has asked the BCCI to hear the TCA and respond in six weeks. The TCA officials have met the BCCI officials and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, including Vinod Rai and the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.

"The CoA has asked the TCA to submit a representation by May 15. The CoA has given us a bunch of documents related to the Justice Lodha Reforms. We are delighted with the directions of the Bombay High Court. It has given us the much-needed attention from the BCCI which was pending for two years after we applied for recognition as Associate Member. Telangana cricketers have aspirations. They want representation in the BCCI, access to its resources and to play cricket in all age groups. The HCA doesn’t have the culture to promote cricket in the districts and hence the TCA would like to start as an Associate Member of the BCCI,’’ said Reddy at an interaction with the media here on Thursday. The TCA vice-president T. Harinath Reddy and joint secretary G. Srinivas were also present.

The TCA Secretary also said that cricketers in Hyderabad have to part with big money to play in the league and to be sent high in the batting order. "I have given this with proof to the CoA," said Reddy.