Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin was dealt a severe blow as his name from the stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad would be erased. Hyderabad Cricket Association has been asked to remove the name of Azharuddin from the North Pavilion Stand. Besides this, the HCA has been asked not to issue further tickets with Azharuddin’s name. The order was given by Justice V. Eswaraiah, Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Ombudsman and ethics officer on Saturday.
Hyderabad Cricket Association has been ordered to delete the name of Azharuddin from the North Pavilion Stand of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Mohammed Azharuddin Faces Conflict of Interest Allegation
Mohammed Azharuddin, the former India skipper, suffered a major setback as his name from the stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad will be taken off. Hyderabad Cricket Association has been given the directive of deleting the name of Azharuddin from the North Pavilion Stand. Besides this, HCA has also been directed not to issue any further tickets with the name of Azharuddin. Justice V. Eswaraiah, the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Ombudsman and ethics officer passed the order on Saturday.
Conflict of Interest Raised By Lords Cricket Club
As per a report, it has been informed that the move has been taken in light of a conflict of interest. For the uninitiated, Azharuddin was the HCA president in 2019 and at an apex meeting last year, it was agreed upon that North Pavilion Stand of Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium will be renamed from “WS Laxman Pavilion” to his name.
On February 28 this year, Hyderabad’s Lords Cricket Club (LCC) filed a complaint when they asked Azharuddin’s name to be removed from the stand. They argued that it’s conflict of interest as it is provided under Rule 38 that a member of the Apex Council cannot take any decision in their favor.
Other than this, the LLC also urged the Ombudsman to reserve the ‘high handed’ step of Azharuddin in christening the North Stand as Mohammed Azharuddin Stand and it remain as the WS Laxman Stand “for all practical purposes.”.
Ombudsman’s 25-Page Verdict and Club Reaction
In his 25-page verdict, Eswaraiah said, “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.”
After the decision, the LCC took a sigh of relief. As quoted by the Sportstar, the club’s treasurer, Somna Misra, said, “This decision reinforces our commitment to transparency and integrity. We thank the authorities for their fair and just evaluation.”
