Hyderabad: Azharuddin to sue HCA after his name was removed from Uppal Stadium stand

Hyderabad: Former Team India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has decided to file a lawsuit in Telangana's High Court after the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) Ombudsman ordered his name to be taken off the North Pavilion Stand at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here.

Justice (Retd) V Eswaraiah, who is the HCA's ethics officer, took the decision after Lords Cricket Club, one of HCA's member units, alleged that Azharuddin abused his position as then-HCA president by taking arbitrary decisions.

In December 2019, only one month after taking over as association leader, the veteran of 99 Test matches and 334 One-Day Internationals allegedly broke HCA regulations by attending the Apex Council meeting as the former president of the HCA to approve a resolution naming the North Stand after him.

According to the HCA constitution, a resolution must be approved by the General Body. "I will undoubtedly pursue legal action and request that the High Court halt this order. The removal of an Indian captain's name is regrettable," Azharuddin said in a video statement. He also questioned the Ombudsman's decision, claiming that his term had already finished.

“As per the by-laws of the association, the Ombudsman/Ethics Officer’s tenure is for one year. In this case, the Ombudsman’s tenure had ended on February 18, 2025, and any order passed after that period is null and void. He hasn’t got an extension, which can only be given during the AGM, which hasn’t happened. So, how did he pass an order?” the former Indian captain asked.

Azharuddin alleged that he is being targeted because a few HCA officials couldn’t indulge in corrupt practices during his tenure as president. He was elected HCA President in September 2019, and the term ended in September 2023. During his controversial term, the Supreme Court appointed a one-man committee of Justice L Nageswara Rao to manage the affairs of the association in February 2023.

The opposition faction alleged that people related to Azharuddin were involved in selection scandals in age-group teams, a charge vehemently denied by the former cricketer, who scored more than 15,000 runs in international cricket.

“Crooks, who have never held a bat in their hands, are pointing fingers at me. If they want to remove my name from the stand, the man who played 433 games for India, then you might as well take down Shivlal Yadav’s (former India off-spinner) name, as it was also done when he was the HCA president.

“You take down the names of Abid Ali, Tiger Pataudi, and ML Jaisimha. This is one association that doesn’t respect players. And on whose petition is the Ombudsman acting? The club (Lords Cricket Club), where there is no transparency as to who is the actual owner is and who runs it,” he said.

Another allegation was the removal of VVS Laxman’s name from the North Stand and putting his name on it. “Am I foolish to remove a legend like Laxman’s name from the stand, the only man who has played 100-plus Tests from our region? In the North Stand, the pavilion is named after Laxman, and it is still there, you can check,” he clarified.

The Association is dealing with a lot of issues, such as Sunrisers Hyderabad's threat to withdraw from Hyderabad as the home location due to a problem with IPL match tickets. "This is regrettable," Azhar remarked. And I can tell you with all the evidence that a lot of the HCA's choices are being made arbitrarily by a select few rather than with everyone's approval," he said.

"It is unfortunate that certain cricket players in the Association have made some preventable choices. "I'll reveal them when the time is right. There are a lot of things I will say at the right time, and I am sure my fans will give a befitting reply,” Azharuddin stated.