Hyderabad Cricket Association ordered to remove Azharuddin’s name from Stadium stand, was renamed from VVS Laxman Pavillion when the Congress leader was HCA president

The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has been ordered to remove the name of Mohammed Azharuddin from the North Pavilion Stand of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. The order has been issued by Justice V Eswaraiah, Ethics Officer and Ombudsman of the HCA.

The cricket body has also been ordered to ensure that no more tickets are printed for the ongoing IPL season with the name of Mohammed Azharuddin, former cricketer and Congress leader, who was accused of match fixing. The order was issued in response to a petition filed by the Lords Cricket Club.

The Ombudsman decided that putting his name on the pavilion is a case of conflict of interest, as Azharuddin was the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, and the stand was named after him. The order noted that he had taken the decision personally in his own favour, and it was not ratified by the general body of the association.

“The fact that there has been no ratification/modification of the decision by the General Body further strengthens the case against the Respondent No. 1 (Azharuddin), as the Respondent No. 1 has exceeded his authority to benefit himself. In consequence of my findings, a clear case of conflict of interest is made out,” the order stated.

The issue dates back to 2019, when a decision was made to name the North Stand ‘Azharuddin Stand’, and Azharuddin was the HCA president at that time. The stand was named V.V.S. Laxman Pavilion before that.

In February this year, the Lords Cricket Club of the city, one of the members under HCA, filed a plea stating that the renaming of the stand violated rules. It said that as per Rule 38 of the Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations of HCA, a member of the Apex Council cannot take any decision in their favour.

The plea also urged to revert the name of the stand to VVS Laxman Pavilion.

However, the former India skipper denied the allegations of any wrongdoing, saying there was no conflict of interest. Azharuddin also said that he will go to the court challenging the ombudsman’s decision.

“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.

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