Former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin will no longer be able to witness a stand in his honor at Hyderabad’s Uppal stadium. His name on the North Stand was removed after the city-based Lords Cricket Club approached the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) with a complaint in February this year regarding a possible ‘conflict of interest’.
It was in 2019 that the North Stand was rechristened from the VVS Laxman Pavilion to the Mohammad Azharuddin Stand. Interestingly, it was the then-president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin.
The Lords Cricket Club’s Petition Against Mohammed Azharuddin
In the petition, the Lords Cricket Club had claimed that Mohammad Azharuddin had gone against the Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations of HCA. Referring to Rule 38, the petition stated that no decision can be taken by a member of the Apex Council in their own interest. Therefore, the plea to remove the name of Mohammad Azharuddin from the stand was sought.
Reaction of Mohammed Azharuddin
Once the appeal was accepted by the HCA ombudsman, a raging Azharuddin threatened to go to court.
“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 was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
The Lords Cricket Club, however, is happy with the outcome of the plea. “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, told the paper.
