Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has made a strong move after reported coercion, threats, and mistreatment from the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), including president A Jagan Mohan Rao, over complimentary tickets for home games. SRH has warned that they will discuss the matter with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and relocate all their matches in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
According to TOI, SRH’s general manager Srinath TB sent a letter to HCA treasurer CJ Srinivas Rao outlining all the concerns in the email.
“All these unprofessional pressures and actions by HCA, particularly by the HCA president, clearly indicate that you do not want Sunrisers to play at your stadium. If that is the case, kindly confirm it in writing so that we can notify BCCI, the Telangana government, and our management about your intent for us to shift to another venue, and we will relocate,” Srinath stated.
“We have collaborated with HCA for the past 12 years. However, it is only since last season that we have been encountering persistent issues and undue pressure from HCA,” Srinath added.
Srinath further elaborated that SRH provides HCA with a total of 3,900 complimentary tickets for each match, including 50 in the F12A box. He alleged that HCA is now claiming that only 30 seats can fit in the box and, in addition, has demanded 20 extra free tickets in another box.
HCA President Responds to the Controversy
The situation escalated when an HCA representative locked up a box during SRH’s match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on March 27. SRH reminded HCA that they pay rent for the stadium during the IPL and that a box (F3) cannot be entirely locked simply because the franchise refuses to provide 20 additional complimentary tickets. SRH has claimed that such incidents have become frequent over the past couple of years.
SRH has requested a meeting with the apex council members to address the ongoing issue. HCA president Mohan also stated that the state association is working towards a resolution. SRH’s next home match is scheduled against Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 6.
