Ex-HCA Officer Alleges Misuse of IPL Corporate Boxes
Claims premium seating could have earned Rs 15 crore for HCA
Hyderabad: Former Hyderabad Cricket Association general secretary Shesh Narayan has alleged that the cricketing body’s Apex Council members siphoned off at least Rs 15 crore through complimentary corporate boxes during the IPL in Hyderabad, and urged administrator Justice Naveen Rao to stop the alleged loot and fix accountability.
In an open letter copied to HCA general secretary M. Jeevan Reddy, Narayan said the corporate boxes could have generated revenue for the association, which is facing a Rs 68.73-crore liability to Visakha Industries over a failed deal. He alleged that instead of being auctioned, the boxes were allotted to Apex Council members, who misused them for their personal benefit.
Narayan claimed that during administrator Justice L. Nageshwara Rao’s tenure in 2022-23, administrator Durga Prasad had auctioned boxes F7 to F16 and earned nearly Rs 1 crore for the HCA. He alleged that the same boxes are now being handed to Apex Council members and resold through agents for profit, used for canvassing among voters, or distributed to relatives and associates. "This violates HCA's constitution. Members must face accountability," Narayan said.
He also alleged that the VVIP boxes have become a "milking cow" — a source of private gain — for insiders. Catering, he said, was handed over to five-star hotels charging Rs 5,000–Rs 6,000 per pack — which the HCA will have to pay — plus free liquor funded by association coffers. Such arbitrary spending, he asserted, was "highly illegal".
Narayan pointed out that HCA vice-president Sardar Daljeet Singh, joint secretary T. Basava Raju and Sunil Kumar Agarwal had earlier accused past association leaders, including ex-president A. Jagan Mohan Rao, secretary R. Devraj, and treasurer C.J. Srinivas of fraud, and the Telangana High Court had issued orders to recover the funds.
Six months on, no recovery efforts had been made, nor contempt proceedings launched, he claimed. Three office-bearers and the ex-CEO remain under investigation, Narayan alleged, demanding a trial of the accused and an immediate halt to box allocations for Apex Council members to ensure there was no misuse.
