HCA leagues to kick off from June 19, fresh guidelines issued

The HCA joint secretary said the top two teams from each pool (a total of six teams) would qualify for the championship play-offs, and this stage would feature four-day matches.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) joint secretary T Basavaraju informed on Sunday that since the A1-Division League matches were not conducted during the 2024–25 season, the same 22 teams — based on their positions in the 2023–24 season and the results of the subsequent promotion/relegation matches — will continue to compete in the 2025–26 season, which will commence from June 19.

The HCA joint secretary said the top two teams from each pool (a total of six teams) would qualify for the championship play-offs, and this stage would feature four-day matches.

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Each of the six teams will play five matches in the play-offs round, and the top two teams at the end of the play-offs will compete in the final to determine the league champion and runner-up.

It was also informed that clubs/institutions that have not paid the subscription fees for the 2025–26 season shall not be permitted to participate in the league matches. Compliance with this requirement is mandatory.

“Each club/institution may register a maximum of 18 players, and a minimum of 12 players must be registered by June 17 at 5 pm to participate in the first round of matches. The remaining players can be registered up to 24 hours before the match (i.e., by 9:30 am),” Basavaraju said.

“Transfers of registered players are allowed only after two rounds, provided the player has not played any match. Once a player has played a match, no transfer is allowed. Transfers between divisions or across different formats within the same division are not permitted,” he explained.

“Each club is allowed to register up to two guest players. Any player not meeting the HCA domicile criteria is considered a guest player. Such players are not eligible for state selection,” Basavaraju said.

“It is the responsibility of the club secretary to verify player eligibility and domicile status. If any discrepancy is found in the documents, the player will be banned from all HCA tournaments. The nature of such a ban will follow the BCCI guidelines for age fraud,” he said.

“Players must fulfil at least one of the following conditions — born in Telangana, or outside Telangana but domiciled in the state for the past three years, supported by school/college report cards for three years, bonafide certificate for three years, and original birth certificate,” Basavaraju said.

“Players who are in the process of acquiring Indian citizenship may be permitted to participate, subject to verification of supporting documents such as applications submitted to the post office, passport seva kendra, or proof of citizenship relinquishment and Indian citizenship application,” he explained.

The team should comprise a minimum of two players who were in the Ranji playing XI in the last five years and a minimum of three players who were in the playing XI for Hyderabad in Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali, U-23, U-19, or U-16 in the last five years. However, this rule is exempted for Combined Districts XI.
Institution teams must include a minimum of seven permanent employees in their playing XI. Valid employee ID cards must be submitted to the HCA before the registration deadline.

There is an age limit of 40 years for players, with the cut-off date of birth being September 1, 1985. This rule does not apply to institution teams.