The Telangana CID has taken into custody five officials, including A. Jagan Mohan Rao, the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), on charges of using forged documents and engaging in fraud.
Sports News: A major scandal has come to light within the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). The current president of the HCA, A. Jagan Mohan Rao, has been arrested by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Telangana for allegedly forging documents and usurping a position. Four other officials have also been taken into custody along with him. This arrest raises serious questions about transparency and integrity in cricket administration.
What is the whole matter?
According to the official press note issued by the CID, A. Jagan Mohan Rao, along with C. Rajendra Yadav and his wife G. Kavita, created forged documents for the Sri Chakra Cricket Club. These documents were presented as genuine in the name of the Golipura Cricket Club, through which Jagan Mohan Rao acquired the position of president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
In this fraud, he colluded with other officials, including the treasurer of HCA, C.J. Srinivas Rao, and CEO Sunil Kante. They are all facing serious charges such as fraud, breach of trust, abuse of position, and misappropriation of public funds.
Controversy also linked to IPL franchise SRH
Initial reports suggested that this action was taken due to a dispute related to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during IPL 2025. However, the CID later clarified that the arrest was made in connection with the matter of becoming president based on forged documents. Nevertheless, it is true that the relationship between SRH and HCA has been quite strained in the past few months.
SRH had sent a complaint to the BCCI and the ICC governing council, stating that the HCA was repeatedly blackmailing them regarding free passes and corporate boxes. SRH even warned that if such activities continued, they might shift their home matches to another state.
Dispute over 3900 free passes
Following this dispute, a meeting was held between SRH and HCA, in which it was decided that the HCA would give 3900 free passes to SRH for each match. While this provided a temporary solution, questions about administrative transparency remained. Now, in the arrest, the CID has also stated that some officials of the HCA threatened, blackmailed, and put undue pressure on SRH regarding free passes. This is not only against the dignity of cricket but also detrimental to the commercial aspect of the game.
The Hyderabad Cricket Association has been in the news before regarding several administrative and financial scandals. Earlier, many allegations were made against the HCA during the tenure of former captain Mohammad Azharuddin.
