BCCI Membership Categories (As per Lodha Reforms)

Full Member: Voting rights, full representation in BCCI

Associate Member: Limited rights, no voting power (except in special cases)

Affiliate/Future Members: Abolished post-reforms Cricketers old and new demand overhaul

How the rot set in

1. Collapse of Institutional Clubs: Once major recruiters, around 25 institutional clubs were illegally converted into private entities between 2001–2005. “Successive governments patronised HCA leadership for political gain. Cricket suffered,” says Guruva Reddy.
2. Vanishing League Matches: With official matches rarely held, budding cricketers have been driven away from the sport.
3. Pay-to-Play Culture: Paying for batting slots became normalised. Parents, too, have played a role in sustaining the practice.
4. Extortion for Team Spots: Players allegedly had to give up match fees to retain their places in teams.
5. Non-Functional Academy: The Hyderabad Cricket Academy of Excellence (HCAE) remained largely inactive for extended periods.
6. Election Manipulation: Proxy votes from government-affiliated clubs were used to rig HCA elections.
7. Age-Group Selections for Sale: Allegations claim U-16 and U-19 team spots were sold for ₹15–50 lakh.
8. Bloated Ranji Squad: The Ranji team list ballooned to 28 players, with similar corruption charges surfacing.

Hyderabad cricket has hit rock bottom, and the demand for a new governing body is growing louder by the day. Cricketers from across generations are now openly calling for the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) to be declared defunct. With over 120 litigations and three Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases pending against HCA officials, the cricketing fraternity is looking towards the BCCI to step in and facilitate the formation of a new, transparent association.

Speaking to Metro India, Guruva Reddy, Secretary of the Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), said, “Historically, HCA has been city-centric, and most national-level players came from Hyderabad. But there is immense untapped talent in the districts that continues to be side-lined.”

While the HCA has held Full Membership status in the BCCI, Telangana was listed as one of six Future Members in the 1961 amendments to the BCCI constitution. Following the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in the BCCI vs Bihar Cricket Association case and the recommendations of the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee (2014–15), all non-Full Members were merged into a single Associate Member category. Legally, this entitled Telangana to its own Associate Membership—paving the way for TCA to seek formal recognition.

Despite multiple court orders, BCCI hearings, and mounting evidence against the HCA, the monopoly of Hyderabad-based cricket officials remains intact.

Why the anger is growing

Local cricketers are vocal about the dysfunction. S. Sainath, a club player now active in corporate leagues, says:

“I'm a big fan of the 50-over league format, but in the last 7–8 years, only 2–3 matches have been conducted out of the expected 13–15. At least 80 club players I know have shifted to corporate matches, which are regular and better organised.”

Even more troubling are reports of players being forced to pay between ₹40,000 and ₹80,000 for batting slots in league games.

“It’s an open secret,” says Chandrashekar, another club cricketer. Despite these serious issues, the BCCI has yet to take decisive action.

Guruva Reddy concludes: “In 2021, the BCCI instructed the HCA to collaborate with TCA and expand its jurisdiction to cover all of Telangana within six months. But those directions have been ignored. The Lodha Committee reforms must be implemented in their true spirit.”