HYDERABAD: Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for Hyderabad Cricket Association president’s post after incumbent Arshad Ayub quit office following the Supreme Court verdict on Lodha committee reforms.
“Problem with Hyderabad was that cricket was not focus. We were second last in Ranji. My basic intention is to see that cricket in Hyderabad flourishes. I really want to do well for cricket. We cannot run the HCA on the whims and fancies of individuals,” PTI quoted Azharuddin as stating after filing his nomination.
“I want to improve cricket at the district level because lot of hardworking players come from districts. We have produced so many great players but now we don’t have players in the Indian team. My intention is to work hard for the game of cricket,” he added.
One of the longest serving Indian captains with the distinction of leading India in three successive World Cups (1992, 1996, 1999), Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal that was unearthed in 2000, PTI reports.
Azharuddin fought a long legal battle and got a favourable order by Andhra High Court back in 2011 but BCCI never officially lifted his ban. He never got the pension that former India players are entitled to.
In fact, the BCCI wrote a strongly-worded letter to DDCA during the last Ranji season when Azharuddin was spotted sitting outside the boundary line chatting to Vidarbha players which match referee of the day took cognisance.
“Yes, I was informed that Azhar came with his supporters to file nomination for HCA elections. He had an order from a lower court which allows him to contest election. Normally, HCA elections are held on last Sunday of May but Azhar has got an order which says it would be held on January 17,” HCA Secretary John Manoj said.
The HCA has been embroiled in controversies and recently a report from Deloitte, an agency appointed by BCCI to oversee the audit of all state units, revealed large sums of money being misused.
In recent times, Hyderabad has witnessed many players from the region switch over to other units, most notably Andhra, because of irregularities in HCA, Deccan Chronicle reports. Ambati Rayudu, currently part of the India A squad, was the first one to move. After him, Pragyan Ojha moved to Bengal, while the talented Hanuma Vihari crossed the border to play for Andhra this season. D Ravi Teja also joined Andhra.
One of the finest batsmen of his time, a touch artist, Azharuddin played 99 Tests for India scoring over 6000 runs and 24 hundreds.
Azhar was an MP from Moradabad during UPA II but lost elections in 2014.
In 2013, he had shown interest in entering the Badminton Association of India (BAI) administration and even got elected as the president of the Delhi Badminton Association to pursue that aim, but later gave up the idea.
