IPL free tickets row: Consensus reached at high-level SRH-HCA meeting
Hyderabad: A day after Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy ordered a vigilance probe into the allegations that the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) is harassing and blackmailing the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) over free tickets, both sides amicably resolved the feud on Tuesday.
The development comes after the representatives of SRH, Kiran, Saravanan, and Rohit Suresh, met with the cricket board officials at a meeting convened by HCA secretary R Devraj at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. The SRH CEO, Shanmugam, virtually joined the meeting.
Recently, the SRH management objected to the complimentary passes, and wrote a letter threatening to stop playing matches at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium if the HCA brass continues to harass them with demands for free tickets.
The meeting saw discussion from SRH on the existing tripartite agreement between SRH, HCA, and BCCI, which ensures that 10 percent of the available stadium capacity across all sections is allocated accordingly. The IPL franchise asserted strict adherence to the agreement. The HCA officials proposed retaining the current distribution of passes across all categories, in line with the long-established practice observed over the years.
Following resolution was agreed upon in the meeting: The category allocation of 3,900 complimentary passes to HCA will remain unchanged, consistent with established practice.
“With this meeting, we have resolved all our outstanding issues,” the HCA secretary informed.
HCA gave an assurance to SRH that they will fully cooperate with the IPL franchise in a professional manner.
The controversy erupted between the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team management and the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) over the free tickets. SRH general manager, Srinath, shot off a letter to HCA treasurer CJ Srinivasa Rao, stating that the franchise will not tolerate such behaviour.
“For several years, HCA has been allocated 50 complimentary tickets (F12A box) as a part of the 3,900 complimentary tickets. However, this year, you are claiming the capacity of the box to be only 30 and asking for an additional 20 complimentary tickets in a different box. When this was brought to our notice, we informed you that we shall discuss and come to a mutually amicable solution,” the email stated.
“Please note that we pay the appropriate rent for the stadium, and during the tenure of the IPL, the stadium is under our jurisdiction. But in the last game, you locked the F3 box, refusing to open it unless 20 extra free tickets were given to you. This unprofessional behaviour creates a hostile environment, making cooperation increasingly difficult,” it added.
