Azharuddin has denied all charges of a conflict of interest and said that he will approach the High Court challenging the HCA Ombudsman’s order.
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal
The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) Ombudsman has issued an order to remove Mohammed Azharuddin’s name from the North Pavilion Stand of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. The order, passed by former acting chief justice V. Eswraiah, further states that no tickets should be printed with the former Indian captain’s name.
The issue dates back to 2019, when Azharuddin was the HCA president. In an Apex Council meeting on November 25 that year, which was presided over by the 62-year-old, a decision was taken to name the North Stand as ‘Azharuddin Stand’, which was then called the V.V.S. Laxman Pavilion.
A complaint was filed on February 28 this year by a city-based outfit, Lords Cricket Club (LCC), one of 226 members with the HCA. It stated that the move to name the stand after Azharuddin violated the Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations of HCA. It argued that, according to Rule 38, a member of the Apex Council cannot take any decision in their favour.
Azharuddin, however, has denied all charges of a conflict of interest and said that he will approach the High Court challenging the HCA Ombudsman’s order.
“There’s no conflict of interest in this. I don’t want to comment, I don’t want to stoop to this level. The cricketing world will laugh at the association. 17 years of cricket, almost 10 years as captain of the side, and with distinction. This is how you treat cricketers in Hyderabad. It’s a very sad state of affairs. We will go to the court, 100%. The law will take its course,” he told The Hindu.
LCC, on the other hand, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. “This decision reinforces our commitment to transparency and integrity. We thank the authorities for their fair and just evaluation,” the club’s treasurer, Somna Misra, said.
Published – April 19, 2025 08:17 pm IST