In shocking decision, Hyderabad Cricket Association gets rid of coaching staff

To the utter surprise of many, the Hyderabad Cricket Association announced that it has dismissed the support staff. On Thursday, the staff were shockingly asked “dispense with their services” with effect from April 1.

The staff were notified about the HCA’s sudden decision via email. As a result, V Ramchander Goud who is the HCA legal counsel has also been ousted. T Shesh Narayan, the HCA secretary, sent out an email that read, “In the APEX Council Meeting held on 2nd April 2017, it has been decided to review the requirement of services of all the Support Staff viz., Coaches/Physiotherapists/Trainers etc. rendering their services for both the Men and Women Cricket Teams/HCAE (Academy) of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Hence, it has been decided to dispense with their services with effect from 1st April 2017.”

T Shesh Narayan, the HCA secretary, sent out an email that read, “In the APEX Council Meeting held on 2nd April 2017, it has been decided to review the requirement of services of all the Support Staff viz., Coaches/Physiotherapists/Trainers etc. rendering their services for both the Men and Women Cricket Teams/HCAE (Academy) of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Hence, it has been decided to dispense with their services with effect from 1st April 2017.”

This comes as an appalling decision as the staff were already making preparations for the upcoming domestic season. The Hyderabad Cricket Academy of Excellence (HCAE) is about to start operations from April 10. A total of nine coaches, three physios, one trainer and a video analyst are employed as part of the support staff.

One of the coaches claimed that he wasn’t notified whatsoever and that he learned of the news through the media. “I got to know about this from the media. We’re shocked, as we’ve been coming here every day in preparation for the new season,” he said to Indian Express.

The entire support staff are rather puzzled by the HCA’s unforeseen decision to get rid of them. Moreover, they weren’t too pleased with the timing of the email as well. “If the meeting was held on April 2, why has the decision been made public five days later?” a member of the the staff asked.

Another member of the staff, who has been working with the Ranji team since 2011 said that he was completely unaware of any such decision. “I myself worked today. No one informed me about this, and it’s surprising,” he informed.