HYDERABAD, INDIA: Hyderabad have done surprisingly well in the Ranji Trophy this season, having won three out of the four matches they have played so far. This has taken them to the top spot in the Group B standings (20 points), which means that they are on course to make it to the knockouts for the first time in ten years. That is, if they continue in the same vein of form.
Despite their impressive showing, a vengeful game is being played in the corridors of power in the state’s cricket circles. A whiff of this could be smelled when Hyderabad inexplicably decided to drop former captain Rahul Singh from the playing XI in their game against Punjab. The result was immediate: Hyderabad wilted under pressure and ended up conceding the first innings lead.
In spite of this wake-up call, Hyderabad chose to leave Rahul out in their next encounter, against Chhattisgarh, as well. While the hosts managed to pull off a thrilling victory with just one wicket in hand, it was by no means a convincing one, with tailender Rakshann Readdi taking the much-sought-after responsibility of hitting the winning runs alongside bowling all-rounder Aniketh Reddy.
Rahul Singh was Hyderabad’s leading run-getter last season
In Rahul Singh’s absence, Hyderabad’s batters have failed to be consistent, with only Abhirath Reddy (322) and Rahul Radesh (301) delivering regularly. Even this has not moved the team management enough to reinstate Rahul to the XI, despite his impressive credentials. By all means, Singh is the best self-made cricketer Hyderabad has produced in this generation, and has the numbers to back his claim up.
In 64 first-class matches, the southpaw has scored 4,416 runs at an average of 44.60. He has also scored 12 centuries and 23 half-centuries, including a best of 214 against Nagaland in 2023-24. And yet, these numbers have not seemed good enough for Hyderabad’s management to retain him in the team. And invariably enough, during the investigation of this story, the Tribune could smell that a big conspiracy was afoot.
Many of the Tribune’s sources at the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) confirmed that there were higher powers at play in Rahul’s exclusion from the playing XI. One source close to the association’s top management, on the condition of anonymity for fear of being blacklisted, mentioned that Rahul’s removal was due to several factors, but said that none of them was purely ‘cricketing’.
“Rahul does not enjoy the confidence of the team management, but this may not be entirely due to cricketing reasons. He has been extremely injury-prone of late, and even missed the inaugural TG20. This has made the management to look beyond him. They were forced to pick him in the squad because of his seniority and the fact that he was the captain for the last three seasons. However, once he showed even the slightest sign of poor form, they decided to do away with him in the XI,” the source confirmed.
The poor form mentioned here concerns the 5, 20 and 2 Rahul scored in the three innings he got to bat this season. Hyderabad, however, conveniently forgot that in the 2025-26 season, the leftie had scored 544 runs and ended the season as their top run-scorer. Public memory is indeed short, but it has been fleeting in the case of Hyderabad’s management when concerned with Rahul Singh.
Rahul Singh’s replacement in the Hyderabad playing XI, Varun Goud, averages just 24 in first-class cricket
What made matters worse was the fact that the choice of Rahul’s replacement in the playing XI, Varun Goud, was a controversial one. The middle-order batter has done very little to merit his selection in the squad, and averages a pitiful 24.86 in first-class cricket. His 55, which played a vital role in leading Hyderabad to victory against Chhattisgarh, notwithstanding, Goud has scored just two half-centuries in his career.
Goud’s selection in the Hyderabad team itself is controversial, since he scored just 351 runs in eight innings in the A Division League this season, ending 11th among the top run-getters. The fact that he was picked while the top two run-getters of the league, P Nitish Reddy (593) and Bhavesh Seth (574), were overlooked made it clear that external factors, which the Tribune had believed to have vanished under Ambati Rayudu’s stewardship, were at play.
Critics point towards the fact that Goud, being a handy leg-break bowler, offers depth to the side as a batting all-rounder, but our investigations comfortably prove these to be baseless. Goud’s performance as a bowler in the A Division League has been mediocre, at best, with a mere 13 scalps in eight outings, ending the season 15th on the list of top wicket-takers. Thus, the claim that he was picked as an all-rounder does not hold.
Here, too, the top wicket-taker, Ashish Srivastav (27), another leg-spinner, was overlooked. Hyderabad’s management can claim that at least in the Super League conducted before the domestic season, Goud saved face by amassing 349 runs, but his mediocre form in the A Division League, and pitiful credentials in first-class cricket, made him the most unlikely of choices to replace a player as iconic and well-loved as Rahul Singh.
Rahul, meanwhile, is one of the very few cricketers in the Hyderabad dressing room who can claim to have no ‘godfather’ in the association, which has often become a byword for having someone in one’s corner during selection meetings. This has meant that despite leading Hyderabad for three consecutive seasons, he has lived and died by the sword, a fact that was confirmed by another source.
“Rahul Singh is undoubtedly the most talented cricketer we have produced in recent times. However, we must remember that unlike some of his teammates, he neither owns clubs in the HCA nor comes from an influential family. This has meant that every match he has played has seemingly been his last, with only extraordinary performances saving his spot. Once the management sensed that he was no longer indispensable to them, they did away with him. Now, he can make his way back into the XI only if the other batters perform worse than they already have. Mind you, some of them deserve the axe more than Rahul does, but as always in Hyderabad cricket, what you see is not what you get,” the source said.
Several Hyderabad batters have fared worse than Rahul Singh this season
The reality is that the Hyderabad management can simply not claim that Rahul was dropped because of poor form. If that were so, as mentioned by the Tribune’s source, the axe could have – and still can – fall on several others. Veteran opener Tanmay Agarwal (150 runs at 25) has flattered to deceive this season, while wicketkeeper-batter Pragnay Reddy has fared even worse (119 runs at 19.6).
With the Ranji Trophy taking a hiatus till January 2027 to facilitate the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (20-overs) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-overs), Hyderabad have ample time to review their performances. They must remember that all of their wins came against much lower-ranked teams, and that challenges against serial Ranji Trophy winners Karnataka and Saurashtra await them in the next phase.
While it may have been manageable to make do without Rahul in the first phase of the Ranji Trophy, where they faced but one serious opposition – Punjab – Hyderabad simply cannot survive without his expertise against Karnataka and Saurashtra (and a tricky visit to Assam). Experience counts for plenty in red-ball cricket, and Rahul’s exposure to two first-class sides (Services and Hyderabad) makes him the ideal man to have in the playing XI.
Hyderabad’s fortunes appear to be turning for the better this season, and with a few more consistent performances, they might even qualify for the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy for the first time since 2016-17. Pursuing a personal vendetta towards Rahul will harm the state in the long run. But reversing their selection policy will give a major shot in the arm to their prospects of aiming for the Ranji title.
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Cover image courtesy: Special Arrangement
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