Intimidation, threats, coercion: SRH warns of moving IPL 2025 matches away from Hyderabad – Mathrubhumi English

ENGLISH
MALAYALAM
NEWSPAPER
E-Paper
Sunrisers Hyderabad | File Photo: ANI
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have warned that they may relocate their home matches from Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, alleging harassment and intimidation by officials of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). According to a Times of India report, the 2016 IPL champions have accused HCA of blackmailing the franchise for additional free tickets and have expressed their concerns in a strongly worded letter.
Franchise warns of relocation amid dispute
SRH general manager Srinath TB addressed the matter in an e-mail to HCA treasurer CJ Srinivas Rao, stating that the franchise would not tolerate such behaviour.
"All these unprofessional threats and actions by HCA, especially by the HCA president, make it evident that you don't want Sunrisers to play at your stadium. If that is the case, please let me know in writing so that we can inform BCCI, the Telangana govt, and our management that you wish for us to move to another venue, and we will move," Srinath wrote, as per Times of India.
He also highlighted that SRH, which has been working with HCA for 12 years, started facing consistent issues only from last season.
Dispute over complimentary tickets
The controversy primarily revolves around the allocation of complimentary tickets. As per the franchise, HCA has historically received 50 complimentary tickets in the F12A box as part of a total of 3,900 tickets. However, this season, HCA claimed the box capacity was only 30 and demanded 20 additional tickets in a different section.
Srinath pointed out that when this matter was raised, SRH had suggested a discussion to reach a mutual agreement. However, he alleged that during a recent match, HCA locked the F3 box and refused to open it unless the additional 20 free tickets were provided.
"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," he wrote.
Accusations of repeated harassment
SRH further claimed that this was not an isolated incident and that similar intimidation tactics had been used by HCA over the last two years.
"Furthermore, we must highlight that this is not the first instance of such intimidation, threats, and coercion from HCA to our staff in the last two years. The HCA president has previously issued many threats this year, and it was brought to HCA's notice," the letter stated.
To resolve the issue, SRH proposed adhering to the signed agreement, which grants HCA 10 per cent of complimentary tickets across each stand. The franchise also requested an urgent meeting with the apex council members to discuss the matter.
"Given the constant threats, coercion and blackmailing by HCA, we suggest that we go as per the signed agreement between us, as per which we will allocate 10 per cent of complimentary tickets across each stand. In light of these developments, we formally request a meeting with the apex council members at the earliest convenience to discuss and resolve this matter," the e-mail added.
2 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 30, 2025
2 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 30, 2025
2 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 29, 2025
3 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 29, 2025
 
2 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 30, 2025
2 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 30, 2025
2 min
Sports
Cricket
Mar 30, 2025
2 min
2 min
2 min
2 min
Movies & Music
News
2 min
News
Kerala
2 min
Features
Technology
2 min
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
Click on ‘Get News Alerts’ to get the latest news alerts from

source