Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin said that he has plans to approach the Telangana High Court, seeking an order on Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) Ombudsman’s order to remove his name from the North Stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Justice (Retd) V Eswaraiah, serving as HCA’s ethics officer, made the decision following a petition submitted by the Lords Cricket Club, a member unit of HCA. The petition accused Azharuddin of abusing his authority as the former HCA President by making arbitrary decisions.
The petition claimed that the former cricketer, with 99 Tests and 334 ODIs to his name, breached HCA rules by attending an Apex Council meeting as the former HCA president to secure a resolution in December 2019, just a month after assuming the role of association chief, to name the North Stand after himself.
“I will definitely take legal recourse and will be appealing to the High Court to stay this order. It is a shame that an India captain’s name is being asked to be removed,” Azharuddin told PTI.
‘Am I a fool?’
Azharuddin, who has played 99 Tests and 334 ODIs, questioned the order, saying that his tenure had already ended by then. The veteran also mentioned that some of the HCA officials have targeted him as they couldn’t involve in corrupt practices.
“As per 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 extension, which can only be given during the AGM which hasn’t happened. So how did he pass an order,” Azharuddin asked.
“You take down names of Abid Ali, Tiger Pataudi and ML Jaisimha. This is one association that doesn’t respect players. And on whose petition, the Ombudsman is acting? The club (Lords Cricket Club) where there is no transparency as to who is the actual owner and who runs it,” he said.
“Am I fool 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.
In 99 Tests and 334 ODIs in his career from 1985 to 2000, Azharuddin has scored 15,593 runs with 29 hundreds and 79 fifties to his name. His last international appearance was an ODI against Pakistan back in June 2000 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
