Ambati Rayudu announces new HCA selection panels

Ambati Rayudu, Head of Cricket Operations at the Hyderabad Cricket Association, announced new senior and junior selection panels while promising transparency and accountability in cricket administration. He also revealed plans for recorded selection meetings, open trials across Telangana and player promotion initiatives

Hyderabad: Ambati Rayudu, Head of Cricket Operations of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, has set the ball rolling, literally, with his stamp of authority.

On Monday, the 40-year-old Rayudu, who took charge only last week, named the selection panels headed by former Hyderabad Ranji opener P Akshath Reddy (seniors) and Akash Bhandari (juniors).

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Conscious of the challenges involved in the clean-up process, Rayudu said that he is aware of some tricky issues that may crop up, but insisted at the same time that the emphasis will be on playing the game the way it should be.

“We (his team, which includes many former Ranji cricketers) will strive to the best of our abilities, be transparent and strictly adhere to the rules and regulations,” he said. “The focus will be on accountability in every aspect of cricketing affairs,” he added.

“The most important being selection of various teams. Exactly for this reason, a selection sheet, devised by former Ranji player PS Niranjan and his team, has been introduced for the first time in the country, where the selectors will be obliged to cite the reasons for picking a player or dropping someone,” Rayudu said.

“And every selection meeting will be recorded on audio and video, and all the steps will be well documented to ensure complete transparency,” he said.

“We picked the best possible selectors with utmost integrity and a clean image. Anyone associated with any coaching academy will be asked to provide a ‘recusal’ letter to ensure there is no bias in the selection process and to ensure a level-playing field,” Rayudu said.

“We will soon constitute a player promotion and marketing team to highlight all the performances of Hyderabad players on different media platforms to bring them to the notice of scouting teams of IPL franchises,” Rayudu said.

“The open selection trials featuring about 3,000 players from across Telangana on a first come, first served basis, with each batch comprising about 250 to 300 players, will be held soon in the city,” he said.

“Henceforth, players will be picked to represent the State based on their performances in a format featuring three layers in all age groups – the league and open selections, the Super League (featuring seven teams comprising best-performing players and players from the open selections), and then the selection matches,” Rayudu said.

HCA Secretary M Jeevan Reddy made it clear that Rayudu has been given a complete free hand in running the game.

It was also informed that the Hyderabad team, which won the Vinoo Mankad Trophy last season after a long gap, would be felicitated along with the support staff, and cash incentives would be announced soon.

The selection panels:

Seniors: P Akshath Reddy (chairman), T Suman, Mehdi Hasan, T Pavan Kumar and Inder Shekar Reddy.

Juniors: Akash Bhandari (chairman), P Ramesh Kumar, Shoaib, Sarvesh Kumar and Timothy Ravi Kumar.