ODI World Cup: Hyderabad’s cricket fans in despair as no India matches scheduled in city

While small centres like Dharamshala, Pune, and Lucknow were awarded five matches each including India matches, Hyderabad which is a bigger centre, was given a raw deal

Hyderabad: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the schedule of the Men’s World Cup to mark the 100-day countdown. However, cricket fans in Hyderabad were left disappointed with no India match being scheduled here.

The city will host three neutral matches — two Pakistan matches against Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 and a New Zealand match against Qualifier 2. Hyderabad will also play host to a few warm-up games.

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While small centres like Dharamshala, Pune, and Lucknow were awarded five matches each including India matches, Hyderabad which is a bigger centre, was given a raw deal.

The former administrators of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) blamed it on the mess in the body for failing to attract big matches. “This is because of the instability in HCA. Otherwise, Hyderabad was always a contender for all big games. Unfortunately, HCA hasn’t behaved according to the constitution and Hyderabad cricket is also not doing well,” rued former HCA president and Indian cricketer Arshad Ayub.

“There is no proper representation in the BCCI. Earlier, we had Shivlal (Yadav) and when I was the president, I used to represent HCA. It is lucky that we got three matches. Though there is no India game, some big-time cricket is happening, though it’s a huge disappointment for the fans,” Arshad added.

T Shesh Narayan, former HCA secretary, blamed the mess in the association and former Indian captain Mohd Azhruddin for it. “There is no elected body here, otherwise they would have fought for it. We are the founding members of the BCCI. But because of the mess made by Azharuddin, the Supreme Court was forced to appoint an administrator to run the show. Why should Hyderabad fans pay the price for the mistakes of others,” he said.

Meanwhile, city fans rued the prospects of missing out on seeing India in action. “Not having an India match in Hyderabad when we are hosting the World Cup is very disappointing. The fans here are very knowledgeable and we are robbed of watching India play,” said Kiran Sikha, an IT employee and a cricket fan.

WC schedule in Hyderabad
Oct 6 — Pakistan vs Qualifier 1
Oct 9 — New Zealand vs Qualifier 1
Oct 12 — Pakistan vs Qualifier 2