“The best way forward to clear the mess is to have fresh elections by dissolving the existing body, the Hyderabad Cricket Association,” said former BCCI president N. Shivlal Yadav.
Flanked by former India captain Mohd Azharuddin, former left-arm spinner S.L. Venkatapathi Raju and former MP V. Hanumanth Rao after attending the Special General Meeting of the HCA convened by the Apex Council at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday morning, Mr. Shivlal said: “It was terrible to make former India captain Azhar sit outside the meeting hall for about an hour and allow him to attend the meeting only after a vociferous demand from all of us (the members).”
The SGM, convened to adopt the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee point by point, ended abruptly amid chaos even as the ruling group claimed that it had passed a resolution adopting all the recommendations.
“We will take up all the issues with the BCCI higher-ups for remedial measures. I have never seen such a farce at any SGM in my life,” Mr. Shivlal said.
For his part, Mr. Azharuddin questioned the legality of the meeting itself.
“This is an illegal body with the president [G. Vivekanand] himself facing a conflict of interest by being Advisor to the State Government,” he said. “The irony is that this is the fourth meeting being convened by the ruling group to implement the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations,” he added.
“I wonder according to which Lodha guidelines the office-bearers are still in power. The image of the HCA itself has taken a beating. Cricket is different from politics and it’s the cricketers who are suffering the most. My fight is not against any individual, but against the system riddled with flaws,” Mr. Azharuddin said.
“I will meet the HCA ombudsman to talk about the murky affairs and seek his intervention to ensure justice,” he said. “I am grateful to all the members, including Shiv bhai and VHR sir, who supported my cause today and saw to it that I eventually attended the meeting and made a point,” he said, adding that no one could question his loyalty to cricket and the HCA. “I am here to give back to the game,” he said.
For his part, G. Vivekanand said they went by the rule book and have not violated any rules. “We needed to endorse the Lodha panel guidelines to get funds to run the show. We will not back out just because someone is indulging in false allegations. We are here to serve the game in the best interests of the players,” he said later.
