Azharuddin to represent HCA in IPL final

BCCI had invited the Apex Council members and one representative from the State Associations for the final

Hyderabad: Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin will represent the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) to watch the IPL final in the UAE on November 10. “I’m going to the UAE for the final,’’ confirmed Azharuddin, who is the president of HCA, on Saturday.

The BCCI had invited the Apex Council members and one representative from the State Associations for the final.

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Interestingly, Azharuddin is still at loggerheads with Apex Council members. The president said he will go ahead with his plans of reforming the association. “We need to bring reforms to bring back the past glory. I have come here to improve the game. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda advocated reforms in the society. They were resisted at the start, but they won in the end. I have to take drastic measures to overhaul the system. Hyderabad cricket has suffered enough in the past. It will continue if we go with the same attitude,’’ he said.

According to Azharuddin, he is planning to bring more competitiveness to the local leagues. “In fact, in bringing more discipline to the local leagues, there should be 90 overs and 40 overs matches in longer format. A bowler will be allowed to bowl only 20 overs. There is no purpose to bowling 40 overs and taking two wickets each. If I bowl 40 overs, I can also take two or three wickets. The league matches have become farcical.’’

On the misuse of funds in the past, he said: “I don’t know what happened to the BCCI funds in the past. I’m clear the BCCI funds should be spent only on the game and on the players.’’

In this Covid-19 pandemic, Azharuddin reiterated that AGM cannot be held and therefore some posts like CFO and CEO need to be appointed. “It is mandatory as per the Lodha Committee reforms. We can’t delay any more in appointing important posts in HCA. The AGM is not possible now. The government will not allow more than 150 members. So the best possible option is to hold the AGM through zoom. The new appointments can later be ratified by the AGM.

“There is no AGM in BCCI. I will still say I have not gone against the rules while appointing an Ombudsman. If they don’t agree then it is their problem. But why should they be so worried if an Ombudsman is appointed. I waited for three months before I appointed Justice Deepak Verma as a president.’’

Reasoning for the priority for the Ombudsman, Azhar said there are disputes for the ownerships of the clubs. “I can’t solve it as we don’t have proper records at our disposal. We have an Ombudsman who will take care of these disputes. The Ombudsman has already taken charge. The only problem is that he can’t come to Hyderabad because of some health issues.‘’

Azhar was clear he would not start the local leagues at the risk of the players’ health. “I want to start but not at the risk of the players’ health. It is not possible to have a bubble for more than 150 matches. I can’t hold matches for a few clubs as others may object. If the BCCI announces the Ranji Trophy, we can have the camps and select a few players.’’

He said his only aim is to improve the game in the city and the state of Telangana. “I played cricket the hard way and I know what it takes to become a big player.’’ A club secretary supported Azharuddin. “It is time to stop the multiple club menace. These small groups have been ruling the association for the last few years and they fear the Ombudsman may be a hindrance to them.’’

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