Published Sep 29, 2023 | 8:35 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 29, 2023 | 8:35 PM
The Pakistan, New Zealand warm-up mathc was held in Uppal stadium in Hyderabad. (X)
The clouds of uncertainty over the World Cup games in Hyderabad were lifted after the Telangana High Court on Friday, 29 September, ordered to defreeze the bank accounts of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), the host association.
The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), run by a Supreme Court-appointed single-member committee in the absence of elected office-bearers, on Wednesday had approached the Telangana High Court for the defreezing of the bank accounts which the lower court had attached.
“The court order has come through and the bank account is operational,” HCA CEO Suneel Kante told PTI.
As a result, the opening warm-up fixture of the World Cup between Pakistan and New Zealand was staged smoothly.
Hyderabad will host another warm-up game on 3 October and three matches in the tournament proper, beginning 5 October.
The high court issued the order in connection with a commercial executive petition filed by G Vivekanand, owner of Visaka Industries and former HCA president.
The High Court asked HCA administrator, former judge Lavu Nageshwara Rao, to pay Visaka Industries ₹17.5 crore within six weeks.
The issue relates to the alleged violation of the development agreement of the stadium and dates back to 2004 when the facility was built.
In 2016, Visaka Industries said it had got a favourable arbitral tribunal order, directing the HCA to pay ₹25.92 crore with 18 percent interest per annum.
“We want the cricket to go on but the HCA has been dilly-dallying the case for the past seven years. We have to take the correct legal side and that is why we went for the attachment. We want the issue to be resolved fully,” said Vivekanand.
Pakistan, who arrived in Hyderabad on Wednesday, will face the Netherlands in their World Cup opener on 6 October before facing Sri Lanka on 10 October.
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