Immediate attention is to restart HCA, prioritize cricketers: CRPF Kode Durga Prasad
Turning the attention on much-awaited elections and multiple clubs' issues, Prasad said Justice Rao is looking into the elections aspect meticulously.
Hyderabad: Known for his honesty, integrity and strict discipline, the Supreme Court appointed one-man committee of retired Supreme Court judge L Nageswara Rao is on a mission to ‘sort out’ the mess in Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). He is being assisted by former director general of CRPF Kode Durga Prasad, a no-nonsense IPS officer.
‘We want to bring in some system where we can permanently arrest corrupt practices. BCCI is doing a lot of work online and we want to do it here in HCA also. We need to have a tight system that can help in smoothing functioning of the administration. The cricketers should not suffer at any cost. Merit will be our top priority,’ said Prasad while talking to Telangana Today.
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Justice Nageswara Rao, who was appointed in February, and Prasad have been meeting former top players and administration officials in their drive to put the much-maligned HCA in order.
Prasad pointed out that their immediate attention is to restart the Hyderabad Cricket Academy of Excellence and starting of the new cricket season. ‘We are starting the academy by month-end, which has been closed for a few years. We have identified people like the director, to head coaches (senior and junior) and other supporting staff (batting, bowling coaches, masseur, trainers, physios). We want a vibrant academy,’’ revealed Prasad.
According to Prasad, they are trying to improve the facilities at Gymkhana from the wickets to Gym. ‘We are trying for a separate net exclusively for the girls.’’
He said their honest effort would be to bring back old glory that Hyderabad had. ‘For that, unless we have a full-fledged academy that will help cricket to develop in the city. We will also have exclusively two free coaching camps. That will be a reality very soon.’’
On the start of the leagues, Prasad said they want to start the leagues by May last week. ‘We are looking at the teams and format on how we would go about conducting the leagues and how many teams will be there in each division. Hopefully, we will try to finalise those modalities by May 10.
‘It is all about selecting the best team and best players. We want a competitive league where players can be groomed and the players perform the best. We want to see where Hyderabad cricket was and not where it is today.’
On the question of selectors, Prasad added that they will have a new set of selectors by the first week of May. ‘We will ensure that the right selection is made. Now that with the Academy starting, we will get a fair idea about the players.’’
Prasad warned that manipulation of scores will be a thing of the past. ‘We will use the technology to good use. We will monitor all the matches. We will ensure that scores are not fudged in future. We want to tighten the system that will help in smooth conduct of the matches.’’
On the allegations of biased selection of players for State teams in various age categories which was a major controversial issue, Prasad said that they will try to bring back the faith in the system which is lacking badly right now. “We will stop all the misuse of the selection. Henceforth there will be 15 members plus stand-byes. The team will be announced one week before any tournament.’’
Turning the attention on much-awaited elections and multiple clubs’ issues, Prasad said Justice Rao is looking into the elections aspect meticulously. ‘He has now framed a questionnaire and the secretaries have been asked to furnish the details about the history of the clubs. Once the replies come, he (Justice Rao) will collate the data and accordingly decide. There are two things to be decided, one on private clubs and institutional teams. Now, most of the institutional teams have turned into private clubs. Justice Rao is looking into that aspect.’’
Prasad stressed the importance of cricket in the districts. `Even there is a lot of demand coming from the districts. We are keen to do something for district cricket. Our ultimate aim is to have grounds in all the 31 districts.’
The former IPS officer admitted that it has been a big challenge for them in this Mission HCA. ‘When Justice Rao asked me to assist me I came to understand that I will come for two or three hours daily. But within the first week, I realized this was a different cup of tea. Now, I have to work from nine to late at night to sort out the mess. It is one of the big challenges – time frame wise. We want to ensure that past glory returns to Hyderabad cricket with a clean administration.‘’
