Jagan Mohan Rao, the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), was taken into custody this past Wednesday by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Hyderabad. This action follows claims that he was involved in a ticket scam during the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
A review showed problems with how tickets were given out and how the HCA was managed. Jagan Mohan Rao and other HCA people are said to have pushed the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for more tickets, even some for personal sale. They are also accused of selling tickets illegally.
SRH has said that Rao used threats and blackmail, claiming he even locked a corporate box right before a match, all to get more free tickets. This broke a three-way deal between SRH, HCA, and BCCI, which says that HCA should get 10% of tickets for free.
After these claims, the Telangana government told for a review to happen. The CID then filed a report against Rao and other HCA officials after the review supported claims that they misused their power and put too much pressure on SRH.
Before this, SRH and HCA had decided to keep giving out 3,900 free passes, which was decided at a meeting. SRH had asked the BCCI and the IPL to step in and fix what they called blackmailing tactics from the HCA, which the association denied.
SRH had even warned that they might move their home games to another state if the HCA continued to threaten them, mainly over the issue of free tickets.
To solve the problem, HCA Secretary R. Devraj set up a meeting with SRH officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. SRH representatives Kiran, Saravanan, and Rohit Suresh were there for these talks.
During the meeting, SRH suggested that they stick to the current deal between SRH, HCA, and BCCI, making sure that 10% of the stadium’s seats are given out as agreed, according to a joint statement from HCA and SRH.
HCA suggested keeping the number of passes in each group the same, which is how it has been done for years.
After talking it over and speaking on the phone with SRH CEO Mr. Shanmugam, they decided that the HCA would still get 3,900 free passes, which is how it has always worked.
HCA assured SRH that they would work well with them in the future.
Both HCA and SRH want to work together to enhance the fan experience at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, according to a joint statement.