The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has formally offered its invitation to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to consider Visakhapatnam as their home ground, if they agree to relocate from Hyderabad.
Latest reports reveal that the ACA has approached SRH to host its remaining matches in Visakhapatnam, possibly during the mid-tournament, and is offering tax incentives to the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.
Moreover, the conflict between the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and Sunrisers Hyderabad over the complimentary tickets prompted the ACA to offer this proposal.
HCA Officials vs SRH: Disagreement over Complimentary Tickets
For the past 12 years, SRH enjoyed a cooperative relationship with the HCA. But, due to the complimentary tickets, the bonding has taken a bitter turn.
SRH complained about the HCA management’s harassment of the team to accept free tickets. This prompted the 2016 edition’s champions to threaten relocation from Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, the current home ground of SRH in Hyderabad.
Mainly, the IPL 2025 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants was the starting point of disagreement between the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and the SRH franchise. The corporate boxes at the stadium were locked by some HCA officials and refused to unlock unless they were granted 20 additional free tickets. This created a tension between these two parties.
Following the allegations, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has called for a vigilance investigation to deal with this matter.
Meanwhile, the ACA instantly contacted Kavya Maran-led SRH management to offer help and motivate them to consider relocating if they decide to move from Hyderabad.
SRH General Manager Points out the Issue:
T.B. Srinath— the General Manager of the SRH wrote an email to the HCA Treasurer CJ Srinivas on March 29, pointing out the issue and threatening to relocate the franchise from Hyderabad if the HCA officials continue with their misconduct:
“Certainly! For several years, nearly 50 complimentary tickets have been allocated by the HCA (F12A box), which was a part of the 3,900 complimentary tickets. However, this year, you have claimed the box capacity to be 30 and are demanding an additional 20 tickets in a different box. As this was brought to our notice, we would like to inform you that we should discuss and arrive at a mutually agreeable solution.
HCA’s unprofessional threats and actions, particularly by the current HCA president, make it clear that you don’t want Sunrisers to play at this venue. If that is the truth, kindly let me know through written format, so that we can inform BCCI, the Telangana Government, and our Top management to relocate to another venue, and we are ready to do so,” Srinath conveyed.
Visakhapatnam: Second Home for Delhi Capitals
The GMR Group-owned Delhi Capitals (DC) uses the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam as the second home ground.
Visakhapatnam hosted two IPL matches of DC in the ongoing season in 2025:
- Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG): March 24 (Monday)
- Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): March 30 (Sunday)
Similarly, in the previous edition of IPL in 2024, DC played its two matches at the same venue —one against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 31 and the other against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 03.
Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam Relocation: INR 3 Crore Loss Per IPL Match
The ACA officials have pointed out the Visakhapatnam stadium’s limited seating capacity upto 28,000, which could cause an approximate loss of INR 3 crore per IPL match for franchises. In comparison, the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad has a seating capacity of upto 55,000.
To help reduce these losses, the ACA plans to offer an SGST tax reduction upto INR 1 crore per match.
SRH’s Investment to Relocate its Home Ground
Suppose the Sunrisers Hyderabad plans to relocate their home ground to Visakhapatnam, they are required to invest approximately INR 10 crore to change the stadium’s color theme to symbolize their brand. As of now, the stadium reflects the branding of Delhi Capitals.
Also Read: KKR’s Playing XI Analysis: Balance, Strengths & Weak Links | Can They Regain Their Glory?
Visakhapatnam Stadium Likely to Host Inaugural Match of Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025
As Visakhapatnam is likely to host the opening match of the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, the renovations to the stadium are funded at around INR 40 crore by the ACA. This initiative was to improve the basic facilities, such as the restrooms, and the inclusion of extravagant features like corporate boxes.
However, the discussions are in progress between the ACA, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), International Cricket Council (ICC), and Andhra Pradesh’s government to secure this prestigious international event for the state.
Furthermore, the sources revealed that the BCCI is planning to focus on ACA’s priority of organizing more T20 and ODI matches in Vizag. Also, the ACA expects to host more IPL matches at this venue, which includes at least two matches of Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad each, as both these teams boast a strong fan base in Andhra.
In recent times, the HRD Minister Nara Lokesh got together with the ICC Chief Jay Shah to discuss key programs such as the construction of the new stadium, infrastructure upgrades, and organizing more matches.
Also, Jay Shah was overwhelmed with the renovations at the Vizag stadium. As a result, there are chances to not only witness the increased number of IPL matches, but also the possibility to host the inaugural event of the Women’s World Cup in September this year.
