Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is unhappy and has even hinted at leaving Hyderabad if things don’t change. According to a report by the Times of India, the team claims that officials from the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) have been messing with them, asking for free tickets and causing trouble. SRH’s general manager, Srinath TB, wrote to HCA treasurer CJ Srinivas Rao to make it clear that they won’t put up with this kind of behavior anymore.
In the email, Srinath pointed out that the unprofessional actions from HCA, particularly the president, show that they might not actually want SRH to continue playing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. He asked HCA to confirm in writing if that’s the case so they could inform the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Telangana government, and their own management about the possibility of relocating games.
Srinath mentioned that SRH has been working with HCA for over a decade, but it’s only been in the last season that they’ve faced so many issues. The team has already played a couple of home games in the ongoing IPL 2025, but the problems just keep piling up.
He pointed out that for many years, HCA was given 50 complimentary tickets as part of the total 3,900 tickets made available. This season, though, HCA claims that the capacity of their usual box is only 30 seats, and they’re asking for 20 extra complimentary tickets from another box. When SRH brought this up, they intended to discuss it and find a way to make it work. But things took a turn.
According to the email, SRH pays fair rent for using the stadium, and during IPL, they have control over it. But in a recent game, HCA locked up one of the boxes and said they wouldn’t open it unless they got those extra tickets. This kind of behavior creates problems and makes it tough to work together.
It’s not the first time this has happened either. Srinath pointed out that this kind of intimidation has been an ongoing issue over the past couple of years. He mentioned that the HCA president has made threats before, and they’ve tried to bring these situations to HCA’s attention.
Given all the ongoing trouble, SRH suggested they stick to the original agreement, which states they would provide 10% of complimentary tickets to different stands. In light of everything happening, SRH has asked for a meeting with the main council members as soon as possible to sort this out. They want to resolve this issue and get back to focusing on cricket.
