Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium

The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, commonly known as Uppal Stadium, is an international cricket stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is owned and operated by Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). It is the home ground of Hyderabad cricket team and Hyderabad women's cricket team.
Located in the eastern suburb of Uppal, it has a seating capacity of 55,000 and extends across 15 acres of land. It serves as the home ground the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad. As of 13 October 2024, it has hosted 6 Tests, 10 ODIs, and 3 T20Is. The stadium hosted the final of 2017 IPL and the final of the 2019 IPL. The stadium hosted its first ICC event in October 2023 during the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
It is renamed after the former prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
Before the stadium was built, HCA hosted domestic and international matches at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in the Fateh Maidan sports complex at Basheerbagh in central Hyderabad. The ground's proprietor was the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh state (Now Sports Authority of Telangana State) due to which HCA had limited authority and control over the ground, due to which it decided to build their own stadium. In 2003, the proposal for a new stadium was submitted by HCA to the government of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, then headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu. The proposal was quickly cleared and HCA was allocated a budget for the same. The government also identified a large piece of land suitable for the project at Uppal.
Most of the funding for the project came after an open auction of the stadium's title was held. Visaka Industries Limited won the auction with a bid price of ₹65,00,00,000. A sum of ₹43,00,00,000 was paid in advance and the stadium was named "Visakha International Cricket Stadium" in 2004.
By 2005 when most of the stadium was built, it was ready to host its first ODI Match between India and South Africa. However, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (before the separation of Telangana) decided to change the name of the stadium to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in memory of the former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
Following this decision, HCA was required to pay Visakha Industries six times the contract price in accordance with the contract clauses governing any subsequent renaming of the stadium or the Visakha name not remaining attached to the stadium. HCA however, following some negotiations by Govt, got away with paying an amount of ₹43,00,00,000, i.e. the contract price only.
The ends are named Pavilion End and North End. On the retirement of VVS Laxman, the HCA decided to honor the veteran by naming the North End after him.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, also known as SRH, is a cricket franchise based in Hyderabad city. The team is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network. Pat Cummins is the captain of the team and Daniel Vettori is the head coach. The team won the 2016 IPL. So far this stadium has served as the home ground of the Sunrisers and the defunct franchise Deccan Chargers.
In IPL 2019, Hyderabad Cricket Association won the award for best ground and pitch.
In IPL 2024, SRH have recorded their highest team total (277/3) against MI & the highest team total in IPL history at this ground which was later broken by the same team against RCB at Bangalore after a fortnight. Following the conclusion of IPL 2024, Hyderabad Cricket Association won the award for best ground and pitch
The ground was scheduled to host its first Twenty20 International on 13 October 2017 against Australia. However, it was called off due to a wet outfield.
The ground hosted its first Twenty20 International on 6 December 2019 against West Indies. It was a high-scoring match, with India winning the match by 6 wickets. India played the 3rd T20 against Australia on September 25, 2022, at this venue. India won by 6 wickets to win the Mastercard T20I trophy. Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 69 runs (36 balls), was awarded the Player of the Match.
The stadium had been selected for renovation prior to the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup in 2023. 120 crore Indian rupees had been sanctioned to carry out the work of installing canopies on both east and west stands, as well as replacing seats. However, only the east stand canopy work had been completed before the world cup, and the west stand canopy work has been completed after the World Cup 2023. The floodlights layout changed due to canopies being installed. This is a much needed upgrade as the stadium hasn't undergone any major upgrades since 2005.