Hyderabad: State Labour Minister and Visaka Industries Chairman G Vivek Venkataswamy, along with the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), has announced the Kaka Venkataswamy Memorial Telangana Inter-district T20 Tournament.
The event, which will commence on December 22, 2025 and run until January 17, 2026, aims to nurture cricket at the grassroots level across Telangana, marking a significant step in the sport’s development within the state.
Speaking at the launch event at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Vivek, who is also the former HCA President, emphasised the tournament’s objective to foster the development, promotion, and systematic organisation of cricket at the mandal, town, and district levels. The tournament is sponsored by Visaka Industries.
“This tournament is a tribute to my father, G. Venkataswamy, fondly known as Kaka in political circles, who was a Congress Working Committee member and a ardent cricket enthusiast,” Vivek recalled.
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He shared personal anecdotes of how Venkataswamy introduced him and his brother, former HCA president G. Vinod, to the game by taking them to matches at the Lal Bahadur Stadium during their childhood.
Vivek, himself a former player for the Hyderabad Public School (Begumpet) cricket team and captain of the Osmania Medical College side, highlighted the deep familial connection to cricket that drives this initiative.
The tournament is named in memory of G. Venkataswamy, whose legacy extends beyond politics into sports infrastructure. Former HCA secretary N. Shivlal Yadav credited Venkataswamy’s vision and Visaka Industries’ sponsorship for the construction of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in the early 2000s.
“We are sitting here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium because of him,” Yadav noted, underscoring Venkataswamy’s pivotal role in transforming Hyderabad’s cricket landscape.
Tournament Details
Structured in two phases, the tournament will see 29 district teams initially compete in a round-robin format to form zonal sides representing Warangal, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Khammam, Adilabad, Mahbubnagar, and Medak.
These eight teams, along with Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy, will then form a 10-team pool for the second phase, where they will play additional round-robin matches to secure a spot in the top four for the knockout semifinals. Each district will finalize a 13-member squad, with HCA assigning five additional players to bring the squad strength to 18.
Eligibility criteria stipulate that players must be under 25 years old and have never played for HCA teams in any age group BCCI tournaments or been part of HCA probables, ensuring a platform for emerging talent.
The tournament will predominantly be held across Telangana, with 75% of matches played in various districts, while 25% will take place at marquee grounds in Hyderabad. Cash prizes are substantial, with the winning team set to receive ₹5 lakh, the runner-up ₹3 lakh, and the third and fourth-placed teams ₹2 lakh and ₹1 lakh respectively.
Individual awards throughout the tournament will also carry cash incentives, further motivating participants.
