'BMW to Each Player, Rs 1 Cr to Team' - HCA chief promises huge rewards if Hyderabad 'win Ranji Trophy in 3 years'

Hyderabad had an excellent Ranji Trophy 2024 campaign as they won all seven matches they played in the competition. They had to bat twice only in six out of the seven games. In the summit clash of the Plate League, Hyderabad got the better of Meghalaya as the Tilak Varma-led side won by five wickets on Tuesday, February 20, at their home ground - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.

With this thumping triumph, Hyderabad ensured themselves a promotion to the Elite Group in next season's of the competition. They chased down a target of 198 in the fourth innings' courtesy of half-centuries from Rahul Singh Gahlaut (62 off 40) and skipper Varma (64 off 50).

In the aftermath of the monumental result, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) announced a reward of INR 10 Lakh for the champions and Rs 50,000 for the standout performers. However, this wasn't all, as the association chief Jagan Mohan Rao Arsihnapally also promised a BMW car to every player and a cash reward of INR 1 crore to the team if they win the coveted Ranji Trophy title within the upcoming three seasons. Rao said that the announcement would serve as motivation for the team and explained the reasoning behind the three-year window given to them.

“The announcement was aimed at motivating the players and other stakeholders. Achieving the target next year is realistically not possible, so I gave them three seasons,” Rao was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

Hyderabad encountered an underwhelming 2023 season as they finished last in Elite Group B after winning just one out of seven games in the league stage. As a result of this dismal performance, the former two-time champions (1937-38 and 1986-87) were relegated to the Plate Group. However, they outclassed teams like Nagaland, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram to swiftly return to the Elite Group.

Ranji Trophy 2024 quarter-finals to start on February 23

All four quarter-final matches of the Ranji Trophy 2024 season will get underway on Friday, February 23. Vidarbha, Karnataka, Mumbai, Baroda, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are the eight teams that will be competing in the quarter-finals.

All the games from this stage onwards will be five-day affairs. Vidarbha host Karnataka in Nagpur, while Mumbai meet Baroda at home. Tamil Nadu and defending champions Saurashtra will square off in Coimbatore, while Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh cross swords in Indore.

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