HCA adds 14 more teams to 3-day league

HYDERABAD:  Adding yet another intriguing chapter to the already bizarre script, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has announced the inclusion of 14 more teams in the A1 division three-day league from this season.

The move is seen by the game’s experts as yet another exercise to make money, rather than promoting cricket per se.

This is in contrast to the decision taken by the apex council during the association’s general body meeting on February 18. The HCA has now okayed 36 teams for the three-day league as against the 22 teams that was cleared earlier.

A team that finished at the bottom last season has been promoted to the three-day league, pointed out a club member. The apex council had decided not to go about promotions and demotions of teams this season.

The one-man committee of Justice L. Nageswara Rao (retired), appointed by the Supreme Court, had, in its final report, suggested that only 22 teams should be allowed in the A Division three-day league.

Former India captain Mohd Azharuddin, who headed the HCA earlier, said that those who had never played cricket were calling the shots and killing the game. The decision to increase the number of teams was a clear violation of the ombudsman guidelines, he said.

The only intention to accommodate more teams was to make money. It was a matter of grave concern that out of 36 teams, 35 were from the city and there was one combined district team. “It is a fraud in the name of a district team,” said Dharam Guruva Reddy, general secretary of Telangana Cricket Association (TCA).

Rasheed, who coaches a private club, said that the teams which make the three-day league grade earn more as they charge money from the players, who won’t mind spending because this forms the basis for selection to the Ranji team. Many talented players have suffered due to the shoddy selection process, he said.

Talking to Deccan Chronicle, HCA president A. Jagan Mohan Rao said that he was personally against adding more teams to the three-day league structure. The decision to increase the number of teams was taken in an apex council meeting as a Ranji format. Teams which performed well in the two-day league, have been promoted and included in the plate group. Poor performing teams would be demoted, he said.