Hyderabad: Veteran cricketer Wasim Jaffer is set to be appointed as mentor for all cricketing activities of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), starting July 2026 on a two-year contract.
Jaffer will mentor players across all age groups and is expected to travel with the association’s teams for tournaments, including the Ranji Trophy.
The announcement was made by HCA chairman Ambati Rayudu while addressing the media at Uppal Stadium on Monday, June 29.
Rayudu also announced that district cricket academies will be established across all 10 undivided districts of Telangana. Of these, four will be developed as Centres of Excellence (COEs) at Zaheerabad, Suryapet, Jagtial and Nagarkurnool.
The COEs will be built on 15-acre plots to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) standards and will also host TG20 matches in the near future. All four COEs and the remaining district academies will be equipped with grounds, basic facilities, dormitories and locally-trained coaches.
Rayudu said all the new cricket academies would be operational within the next 18 months.
An overwhelming response for TG 20 League
Addressing the media, HCA Governing Council chairman Agam Reddy and member Sandeep Reddy stated that the TG 20 League which began on June 21, has been receiving great response from across the country, with an average of 7,000 tickets getting sold (apart from complimentary tickets) on every single day of the matches being held at Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy Stadium in Uppal.
They said that 50 percent of the league matches have been completed, and that all the league matches will be completed by July 8. The play-offs will be held on July 9 and 10. The final match will be held on July 12, which will be attended by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other dignitaries.
The HCA claimed that around 15,000 to 20,000 people were coming to watch the match every day, and that the Instagram viewership of the matches has crossed 2 crore people.
They said that Tilak, Aman Rao, Ganesh and Satish, among other names, were prominently being heard as those who have performed well in the league matches till now, and that three scouts from the Indian Premier League (IPL) have been coming to the stadium to watch the matches every day.
“Presently there are 150 TG 20 players, but 2,000 more are likely to play in these league matches, as they will be practicing hard for a break for the next 3-4 years. Among these, we are expecting at least 15 TG 20 players to be included in the IPL pool, after its scouts select and recommend them. But we don’t know who they are going to choose,” said Agam Reddy.
However, the organisation of TG 20 League by HCA was also not easy. According to HCA spokesperson Sheshnarayan, there has been a loss of Rs 12 to 15 crore because of an individual who was trying to “run a parallel association,” who allegedly threatened the investors who were buying teams of legal consequences, claiming the league was illegally being held.
Infighting, controversies and court cases
Making it clear that HCA had the required permission to hold the TG 20 league matches, HCA Chief Executive Officer Imtiyaaz Khan said that a formal complaint has bene lodged against that individual with the Medchal-Malkajgiri Police Commissioner, and action was being awaited. A judicial review will also be sought against the culprit.
Though none of the HCA ranks have disclosed the name of the person trying to malign HCA, it is known that the person is none other than Guruva Reddy, who has reportedly locked horns with the age-old association which has been there since 1938.
The HCA has accused him of not only being a member of a political party, but also acting at the behest of politicians who have vested interests.
Guruva Reddy has also been accused of running an unrecognised association named Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), falsely claiming that it was recognised by the BCCI.
“An unrecognised cricket association has been fraudulently conducting inter-district tournaments under the name and claimed afiliation of (recognised association- BCCI/HCA/TCA), without authorisation, recognition, or constitutional standing. This is not a dispute over cricket administration. This is a question of fraud, trademark violation, and the integrity of official cricket records,” HCA spokesperson Sheshnarayan stated.
He also underlined that the claims of the violators were presently in the courts of law, and hoped that justice will prevail.
HCA will have to live with the allegation of corruption: Spokesperson
When questioned by the media about lack of supervision which may have bred such violators and allegations of corruptions in HCA, the spokesperson said that HCA would have to live with it.
“People will hit stones to the tree which bears fruits. Nobody will hit one with no fruits. The stone will fall and head will be damaged. Work is getting done here, the reason why allegations are being made. If there was no work done, there would be no allegation,” Sheshnarayan reasoned.
The spokesperson also announced that all leagues of districts will be held in the coming days, and that women’s coaching centres were also being planned in the districts.
HCA elections to be held in October
Regarding the elections to HCA, he said that since the present term will end in October this year, the present issue of not having a HCA president would actually not affect the running of the association’s activities, as the Telangana High Court has held that the acting vice-president could act as the president for 45 days.
“There is no point of holding the elections twice in a year,” Sheshnarayan remarked.
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