SRH furious with HCA’s harassment and ticket demands, plan to change home ground

The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is considering moving their home games away from the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (RGIC) in Uppal due to ongoing issues with the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). The reason behind the conflict was the alleged pressure, coercion, and blackmailing for free tickets by the HCA officials, especially its president, A. Jagan Mohan Rao. The frustrated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team management has expressed their displeasure over the state associations’ unprofessional behavior, which they claim has been escalating since last season. Sunrisers Hyderabad mulls over changing the venue over HCA ticket dispute Despite having a long-standing partnership of over a decade with the HCA, the SRH team feels that the HCA’s recent actions are pushing them to explore alternative venues for their IPL games. One of the key issues involves complimentary tickets for the ongoing IPL 2025. In an email to HCA treasurer CJ Srinivas Rao, SRH general manager Srinath TB wrote, as reported by Times of India: “All these unprofessional threats and actions by HCA, especially by the HCA president, make it evident that you don’t want Sunrisers to play at your stadium. If that is the case, please let me know in writing so that we can inform BCCI, the Telangana government, and our management that you wish for us to move to another venue, and we will move. We have been working with HCA for the last 12 years. Only from last season have we been facing constant issues and harassment from HCA.” ‘HCA president has issued many threats to SRH this season’ In previous seasons, the HCA was allotted 50 complimentary tickets for a specific box as part of a larger 3,900-ticket quota. However, this year, the HCA claims the box can only accommodate 30 seats and is demanding an additional 20 tickets in a different box. The Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise has also decided to discuss the matter to reach a reasonable solution, but the ongoing pressure from the HCA has left them feeling cornered. The SRH management has stated that they are prepared to inform the BCCI and Telangana government if the situation isn’t resolved. They are also open to changing their home ground if the issues persist. Actually, the controversy erupted when HCA representatives locked the F3 box during the SRH vs LSG match on March 27, demanding 20 extra complimentary tickets before unlocking it. SRH management expressed frustration, pointing out that they pay the required rent and that the stadium falls under their jurisdiction during the IPL. Hyderabad wants HCA to stick with its agreement They called HCA’s behavior hostile and unprofessional, which has made it tough for them to cooperate. The team has faced similar issues from the HCA over the past two years, with repeated instances of threats and coercion, particularly from the HCA president. In an effort to resolve the issue, the IPL franchise suggested the HCA stick to the signed agreement, which allocates 10% of complimentary tickets per stand. They have also requested an urgent meeting with the apex council members to address and settle the matter. Well, the HCA president, Jagan Mohan, confirmed that they received mail from SRH. The HCA president was quoted as saying by Times of India, “There is an issue between HCA and SRH over 20 complimentary tickets. We are looking into the matter and will resolve it.” On the other hand, the source said, “The secretary is trying to prevent an escalation. He is working on resolving the issue amicably, but it remains to be seen how the president responds to the crisis.”