The Hyderabad Cricket Association and Sunrisers Hyderabad have resolved their differences over the allocation of complimentary tickets for IPL 2025 matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
The two parties agreed that the allocation of 3,900 complimentary passes to HCA would remain unchanged following a meeting held on Tuesday, April 1, to address the issues.
The meeting was called by HCA secretary R Devraj and was attended by key representatives from SRH. The Sun Group-owned franchise, in their proposal, advocated for strict adherence to the tri-party agreement between SRH, HCA, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The agreement stipulates that 10% of the total stadium capacity across all sections should be allocated in a transparent and structured manner.
On its part, HCA was firm on maintaining the status quo with regard to the existing pass allocation system, which has been followed for years without issue. HCA was firm that the current allocation of passes within each category be maintained, a practice that has traditionally been in place and followed as part of a long-standing system at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
The matter was made public after SRH’s last home fixture against Lucknow Super Giants when some HCA officials had reportedly locked one of the corporate boxes and refused to unlock it unless 20 extra complimentary tickets were issued to the association.
Though SRH accepted the demands at that time, the team’s general manager, Srinath T.B., wrote to the HCA treasurer on March 29, drawing attention to what had happened and threatening to move the franchise away from Hyderabad if HCA officials didn’t change their attitude.
After Tuesday’s meeting, HCA issued a statement clarifying that the issues had been resolved.
The statement reads: “In response to various reports circulating in mainstream and digital media regarding issues between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), HCA Secretary Mr. R. Devraj convened a meeting with SRH officials today at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. The meeting was attended by SRH representatives Mr. Kiran, Mr. Saravanan, and Mr. Rohit Suresh.
“During the discussions, SRH proposed strictly adhering to the existing tri-party agreement between SRH, HCA, and BCCI, ensuring that 10% of the available stadium capacity across all sections is allocated accordingly. HCA, in turn, proposed maintaining the existing allocation of passes in each category, in line with the long-standing practice followed over the years,” the HCA statement said.
“Following in-depth discussions and further telephonic deliberations with SRH CEO Mr. Shanmugam, the following resolution was agreed upon:
“The category allocation of 3900 complimentary passes to HCA will remain unchanged, consistent with established practice.
“HCA has assured SRH that they will fully cooperate with SRH in a professional manner,”
The statement further stated that both “HCA and SRH remain committed to working together amicably to enhance the spectator experience at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium”.
