The forthcoming elections for the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) have been set to take place in a fortnight. One of the candidates for contesting for the HCA President is Mohammad Azharuddin, a former captain of the Indian Cricket team who had previously held the same office in 2019. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Azharuddin learnt that his name had been omitted from the voters’ list.
The Supreme Court-appointed single-member commission, led by retired Supreme Court judge L. Nageshwara Rao, has declared him ineligible to participate in the HCA elections. Judge Rao issued the ban order on July 31, 2023. As per the order issued on July 31, 2023, individuals who serve as executive committee members in clubs where they or their family members have participated in the governance of multiple clubs have been rendered ineligible to participate in the upcoming elections for the HCA. This disqualification will remain in effect for a term of three years or a longer duration, if applicable.
Why did Azhar get banned?
The Azhar’s ban has been imposed due to the fact that he holds the position of President in Deccan Blues Club, thereby violating established norms and regulations. The written communication indicates that on September 30, 2022, the monitoring committee designated by the Supreme Court had requested Azharuddin to gather pertinent data pertaining to the particulars of all registered clubs that maintain membership with the HCA. The aforementioned details were disclosed in a correspondence dated October 10, 2022, which was transmitted by P.R. Man Singh, the secretary of Deccan Blues Cricket Club.
Under his term as the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, instances of strife arose among conflicting factions, leading to legal proceedings in the Telangana High Court. The issue was resolved by the Supreme Court monitoring through the establishment of a committee.
This incident further deteriorates the already tainted reputation of the former captain of the Indian Cricket team. He gained both recognition and infamy through his involvement in the sport of cricket. Azharuddin, a prominent cricketer, participated in a total of 99 Test matches, during which he achieved the notable feat of accumulating 6125 runs. This outstanding batting performance resulted in an average score of 45 runs in each match. In addition, he participated in a total of 334 One Day International (ODI) matches, achieving a cumulative score of 9378 runs with an average of 36.92 during the course of his 15-year professional career.
Azhar’s illustrious cricketing tenure became embroiled in controversy after he was purportedly implicated in match-fixing during the One Day International series of South Africa’s visit to India in March 2000, a series in which India emerged victorious with a score of 3-2. The revelations regarding match-fixing had a detrimental impact on his professional trajectory. On November 27, 2000, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) pronounced him culpable for engaging in match-fixing. Azhar and his colleague, Ajay Jadeja, were subsequently suspended for a lifetime.
Acquittal of Azhar
In 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) attempted to acknowledge his accomplishments in cricket during the 2006 Champions Trophy. However, his tarnished career continued to cast a shadow on this recognition. Subsequently, he made the decision to establish his presence in the realm of politics by affiliating himself with the Congress party and contested as a candidate in the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh during the general elections of 2009. He became victorious in the elections by a significant margin, thereby mitigating the negative perception associated with his controversial history and eventually gaining recognition in a positive perspective.
Throughout this prolonged duration, he made consistent efforts to establish his innocence. Finally, after some effort, Azharuddin’s effort yielded results on November 8, 2012, when the verdict was delivered, and he was acquitted of the match-fixing allegations due to insufficient evidence. Consequently, the lifetime ban imposed on him was invalidated, a decision deemed “unsustainable” by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The order of the City Civil Court, which had sustained the ban following Azharuddin’s challenge, was overturned by a high court division bench.
