HCA lands in new controversy

When asked whether Andhra Bank can play as a United Bank team after they won an interim order from High Court, Azharuddin said they need to take legal opinion before taking any decision on this issue

Hyderabad: There seems to be no end to controversy in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), now with the decision to add 12 more teams in the A-1 three-day league. The new additions take the total number of teams in the premier league to a record 32 teams.

The teams that have been given promotion are Charminar Cricket Club, Goud XI Club, Secunderabad Nawabs Cricket Club, Sportive Cricket Club, Balaaji Cricket Club, Khalasa Cricket Club, Rohit XI Cricket Club, Sri Chakra Cricket Club, Jai Bhagavati Cricket Club, Mahmood Cricket Club, Apex Club and Combined Districts XI.

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They will be playing in Group C. Meanwhile, Central Excise, who have a good number of Ranji Trophy players, has been drafted in the three-day league and is placed in Group A in place of South Central Railway who have withdrawn from the tournament.

HCA president Mohammed Azharuddin defended the rise in the number of teams and said: “I don’t find anything wrong in promoting these teams. It will give good exposure to these players. We never know, we may have some talented players from these clubs,’’ he said.

When asked whether Andhra Bank can play as a United Bank team after they won an interim order from High Court, Azharuddin said they need to take legal opinion before taking any decision on this issue.

For Andhra Bank players it has been a nightmare of sorts. The team, which got affiliation way back in 1971 and produced some big players like MV Narasimha Rao, SL Venkatapathy Raju, VVS Laxman and GH Vihari, was one of those that were missing in action on the first day of the delayed three-day league on Wednesday.

“The players are suffering for no fault of theirs. One of the teams to reckon with and one of the strongest, Andhra Bank was unfortunately merged with Union Bank last year. Union Bank was disaffiliated in 2000 and has since changed hands many times after playing for a few years as Unique Club as a private team. Sadly, there are many such institutions that changed hands and lost its identity. It is sad and murky. This is the sad state of affairs of the HCA,’’ said a former player.

Azharuddin also said the 90-over and 40-over format would help the players to get some match practice sessions before the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.

T Sheshnarayan, former secretary, criticised the HCA decision. “It is nothing but vote-bank politics. How can you increase so many teams in the three-day league. It is a shame and sounds fishy,” he said.

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