Hyderabad: The chaotic Sunday’s annual general meeting of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) clearly indicated that President Mohammed Azharuddin is waging a lone battle against the rest of the five members of the Apex board.
The resulting outburst further widened the gap between the former Indian captain and the other Apex board members.
Now all the attention will be on how Azharuddin will approach and negotiate this gloomy situation.
If he is alone in the Apex Council, Azharuddin could sit on the back foot. This will test Azharuddin’s skills as an administrator to a strong group that knows the tricks of the trade.
There have been ugly skirmishes in the past, but the annual general meetings on March 28 and April 11 could be one of the worst of the already bad malicious HCA.
After Azharuddin fought as one group in the last election, Azharuddin’s relations with the Apex board were on a smooth track and these differences appeared in the two annual general meetings. Attention will now be given to how the BCCI would react to the latest episode of HC.
Who will now name the shots in the HCA? This is the question that everyone is thinking about. By the way, Azharuddin appointed Justice (retd) Deepak Verma as the Ombudsman, while Vijayanand said that Justice (retd) Nisar Ahmad Kakru would take the lead of the post.
The Azhar group has already written to Justice Verma who apparently agreed to act as ombudsman while the Vijayanand group itself sent the letter itself to Justice Kakru on Sunday. Both groups claim to have the approval of the AGM.
What is intriguing is the dynamics and drama played out in the HCA, which became kidney by day. A senior cricketer blamed Azharuddin for the current crisis. ‘He fought the election with this group, and he was well aware that he would step on thin ice. He should have trusted a few senior players who could make valuable suggestions instead of being dependent on a few players.
‘He had the best chance to prove his credentials, but could not show his administrative skills, especially not in the Vijay Hazare and T20 Mushtaq Ali tournaments. It was the worst when a two-member selection team selected a Vijay Hazare team. ‘
He could have brought all the cricketers and former administrators at once for better administration. It is now a bit late for Azhar to convince the former cricketers.
Meanwhile, the Azhar group said the Jumbo list of various committees announced on Sunday was a desperate measure to keep the club secretaries in good humor. However, some denied accepting the post. Former Secretary T Shesh Narayan said he was barely consulted before being nominated to the committee.
One club secretary said they would support Azharuddin in this fight, especially in the Ombudsman case. He added that the anti-corruption case is still in the cold room. ‘If things were speeded up, it would have been a different story to tell. The exact nomination of Shivlal Yadav as representative of HCA for BCCI is contrary to the Lodha reforms. Owning several clubs is the main cause of the current mess and the first thing Ombudsman is to get rid of this nuisance. ‘
The BCCI will have the best possible solution for the BCCI to apply the Rajasthan formula to HCA, in which the board administrators will handle the day – to – day running of the association, without any approach on the cards. If that happens then it will be a black mark on Hyderabad’s cricket legacy.
Source: Telangana Today