File image of Mohammad Azharuddin© X (Twitter)
Former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin faced a severe blow as his name from the stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad will be removed. Hyderabad Cricket Association has received the order of removing the name of Azharuddin from the North Pavilion Stand. Apart from this, the HCA has also been ordered to not to issue anymore tickets with the name of Azharuddin. The order was passed by Justice V. Eswaraiah, the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s ethics officer and Ombudsman on Saturday.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, it has been stated that the decision has been take due to a conflict of interest. For the unversed, Azharuddin was the president of HCA in 2019 and during an apex meeting in the same year, it was decided that North Pavilion Stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium will renamed from “WS Laxman Pavilion” to his name.
On February 28 this year, a complaint was filed by Hyderabad’s Lords Cricket Club (LCC) as they demanded the removal of Azharuddin’s name from the stand. They cited that it’s conflict of interest as according to Rule 38, a member of the Apex Council cannot take any decision in their favour.
Apart from this, the LLC also pleaded with the Ombudsman to set aside the ‘high handed’ action of Azharuddin in naming the North Stand as Mohammed Azharuddin Stand and it be continued as the WS Laxman Stand “for all practical purposes.
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.”
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