SRH accuses HCA president of blackmail over ticketing demands

Sunrisers Hyderabad have accused the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president of blackmail, coercion and threatening its staff at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad. The SRH team, owned by the Chennai-based Sun Group, has also alleged that HCA president Jagan Mohan Rao locked the corporate boxes hours before their game against Lucknow Super Giants (March 27), and has sought a meeting with the association to sort out the vexing issue of tickets and complimentary passes.

Simultaneously, SRH management has also appraised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL management of the troubles it is facing from the HCA president while also thanking the cooperation received from the other officials of the association, including secretary, CEO and others.

"It is the HCA President Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao who is resorting to threats, coercion and blackmail. Even before the IPL started, Rao threatened our staff with coercion, who in return out of fear wrote an email to him, placing on record the threat he made," a recent SRH communique, sent to the HCA Apex Council members, says.

"This is in reference to your email dated 29th March 2025. Firstly, we wish to place on record that we have no grievances against HCA's Secretary, CEO, Treasurer or other office bearers of HCA. In fact, we would like to thank them for their cooperation," the mail says, adding that a corporate box allotted to LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka was locked by Rao. SRH played against LSG on March 27.

"Without waiting for a resolution, the HCA president Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao locked the F3 box just few hours before the start of the game, knowing very well that this box was given to the owner of Lucknow SuperGiants, Mr. Goenka. This was done just to blackmail us and put coercive pressure on us to give additional 20 complimentary tickets before the game." Cricbuzz has reached out to Rao and other HCA officials.

The management has also alleged that Rao was requesting ticket and pass allotments for personal use, instead of going through the normal channel of the host state association. "Few days before the start of IPL, the HCA President suddenly said that he wants us to block 10% of tickets every match (3900 tickets per match) for himself to purchase. This is over and above the 3900 tickets that we give complimentary to HCA. We refused stating that the fans of SRH will miss out on buying said tickets and this will lead to suspicion regarding the transparency of the sale of tickets.

"But he was insisting on a minimum of 2500 tickets with separate individual purchase links and that if we did not block tickets for his purchase, he would not cooperate with us. Reluctantly, we had no choice and agreed to block 1000 tickets for his purchase. But he shouted at our on-ground team that it is unacceptable and therefore we increased it to 2000 tickets. We categorically said that we cannot do individual payment links because it leads to suspicion regarding the purchaser of the tickets and subsequent sale in the black market.

"We were forced to accommodate this request due to coercion, but we insisted the payment must be made from the OFFICIAL HCA Bank account, via only ONE payment link that will be sent directly to the HCA email address, as this provides transparency regarding the transaction. Since we were adamant on this condition, Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao did not respond thereafter.

"For the last two games, 3900 complimentary tickets were handed over to HCA, but we were told that under instructions from the President Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao, 20 tickets of F-12 A were given back saying that we must give them 20 tickets in a different box. So, it is false to state that we gave only 3880 tickets.

"Lastly, we categorically deny that Mr.Shammi (Shanmuganathan, SRH CEO) or Mr.Kiran agreed to give extra 20 tickets in a different box. They only communicated that we need to sit and find a solution because this seat allocation was what was historically followed for more than 10 years, without any issues. Mr. Shammi has replied to your messages via whatsapp and we have proof of the same. Therefore, your allegation that no reply was made by him is false."

SRH has also accused Rao of taking credit for the work done by the franchise. "It is important to note, that it was us, the Sun Group, who spent huge sums of money painting the stadium, renovating the toilets, upgrading the boxes, installing new ACs etc. But Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao, went around giving interviews stating that he was the one who made all the renovations etc.

"When we wrote an email to him (Email attached as B), stating that it was us who made all the renovations that he was taking credit for, and we should have a joint press conference if required to clarify this, he instead only put one tweet acknowledging our efforts." Franchises pay a fee of Rs 1 crore to the state association for each IPL game they host.

"The franchise has sought a meeting with the association. "I kindly request the Apex council to meet us in person so that we can clarify regarding all that has transpired and show the required evidence to the members. We once again wish to state that it is only the HCA President Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao who is behaving unprofessionally, resorting to threats, coercion and blackmail.

"It was always our intention to resolve these issues amicably, but when Mr. Jagan Mohan Rao went to the extent of locking the F3 box and blackmailing for complimentary tickets, we had no choice but to escalate this matter. We thank the other office bearers of the HCA for cooperating with us and hope we can have a meeting scheduled immediately so we can solve this in person."

The HCA is yet to revert on the franchise's request over the proposal of a meeting.