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Azharuddin has the last laugh, attends BCCI SGM

Attends the BCCI’s virtual SGM as he gets the nod ahead of Shivlal Yadav

By N Jagannath Das

Published Date - 29 May 2021, 06:24 PM

Azharuddin has the last laugh, attends BCCI SGM

Hyderabad: In the on-going Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) episode, President Mohammed Azharuddin went one up against the Apex Council as he got the nod to sit in the BCCI’s virtual Special General Meeting (SGM) on Saturday. The Apex Council’s bid to nominate former Test off-spinner Shivlal Yadav as the HCA’s representative to the SGM failed to come through with the former Indian captain getting the password. “I have attended the BCCI SGM today as your representative,’’ he sent a message to the club secretaries.

The run-up leading to the Saturday SGM, which was all about IPL and T20 World Cup, had all the ingredients of a masala movie. Neither of the group received the password to the virtual meeting till Saturday morning and it led to various speculations before Azharuddin was allowed to participate in the SGM. “I was confident that I would get the password and most of the associations’ nominees got the passwords a few minutes before the start of the meeting. The BCCI acted according to the constitution,’’ said Azharuddin.

Secretary R Vijayanand said they believed that the password was not sent to either of the group. “It is disappointing,’’ he said.

But for Azharuddin it was a victory of sorts as he got the backing of the BCCI. By allowing the former Indian captain ahead of Shivlal, the former president of HCA and interim president of BCCI, is indeed a significant development. The five-member Apex Council was confident that Shivlal would attend the meeting but in the end, Azharuddin had the last laugh.

Blasting the Apex Council members for all this drama, Azharuddin reiterated the April 11 Annual General Meeting of the Apex Council held after he had adjourned it was illegal. “The constitution is supreme. In a way, the BCCI recognized the AGM conducted by me and the sets of acts in the form of illegal AGM of the Apex Council, illegal appointments are violation of the constitution. I would not recognise any of these appointments,’’ he added.

He further pointed out that numbers cannot bulldoze him which clearly meant he is waging a lone battle against the five-member Apex Council members. “The battle is not over yet.’’

According to a club secretary, Azharuddin is the first president to take head-on with the Apex Council. “We will support him in his fight against corruption that has ruined the association. We want a clean administration that would help Hyderabad grow,’’ he said.

PR Man Singh, former secretary of HCA, said it was a logical conclusion that Azharuddin attended the virtual meeting. “What is wrong with him attending the BCCI meeting? He is the president of the association and the 2019 SGM had nominated him as HCA’s representative. Nevertheless, it is time for all the members to sort out their differences and work for the betterment of the administration and the game,’’ he said.

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