Hyd to miss IPL action?

Hyderabad: The sun may not rise at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) or so it seems. The debut on the home ground may yet take some time.

In what is seen as a spin-off from the bone of contention between Deccan Chargers and the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), financial jugglery may dash hopes of conducting any of the eight matches of IPL VI in Hyderabad. The onus on whether to take the call or go against hosting matches of the babe-in-the-woods, Sunrisers Hyderabad, was to be decided at a crucial Executive Committee meeting of the HCA here on Thursday. However, the meeting failed to resolve one way or the other because of lack of consensus on the 'thorny' issue.

According to HCA sources, there was a general understanding that they would not shell down any money to Visakha Industries, which was precisely what Chargers management had objected to. It is believed that a strong resolution to this effect was adopted in the EC meeting.

If parameters from the earlier agreement between HCA and the Visakha Industries are indicators then the Association has to cough up a cool Rs 1.5 crore to the company for the conduct of the eight IPL matches this season. It is a tragic irony that two from Visakha, G Vinod and G Vivek, are incumbent policy makers of the HCA. Sources said that some members strongly opposed the move to pay the money as it spelt bad economics and a sure shot disaster to the exchequer.

There were murmurs that the HCA, fresh from the successful conduct of the second India-Australia Test (allotted by default), is not overly concerned about IPL. It would also save itself from a major embarrassment as the long-pending canopy issue, which is seen as a major hurdle for watching the floodlit matches, may create further fissures.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will pay Rs10 lakh per match, which implies that they will pay a maximum of Rs 80 lakh for using the ground. Against such a return, paying a whopping Rs 1.5 crore to Visakha Industries for advertisement rights makes for absurd business sense, said a member.A As things stand, the ball is in the court of the BCCI-IPL think tank and till a verdict is delivered, the fans will have to keep their fingers crossed.