Insulted Azharuddin slams Hyderabad Cricket Association

Former Indian captain Mohd Azharuddin lashed out at the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) after he was barred from attending the Special General Meeting.

The meeting was held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The Special General Meeting which was meant to adopt the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee point by point started in the morning, but Azhar was allegedly made to stand outside for more than an hour.

The current president of HCA, G. Vivekanand decided to bar Azhar from the meeting. Later, on Congress leader, V. Hanumantha Rao started a protest on the stage and recalled the Azhar's achievements. 

However, after some time he was allowed to enter the venue.

Azhar said, "They made me wait outside for an hour. It was very embarrassing. I am a player from Hyderabad and had been the Indian team captain for ten years. These people, who are running the organisation know nothing about cricket. They had never held a bat and a ball in their life."

But soon as the meeting concluded, the right-hand batsman expressed his dissatisfaction over the current state of affairs in HCA.

He raised corruption allegations against the HCA members and demanded that the association needs to be dissolved.

"Players are lamenting that they have to pay lakhs of money to play matches. You cannot run an organisation on 'whims and fancies'. This is not somebody's home; this is an organisation, which is running from 1932," Azhar said.

He also wanted other members to support his membership in the organisation to boost budding cricketers, who are denied opportunities because of the corrupt officials.

"If you all support my membership, I promise I will solve your problems," the 54-year-old added.

Azhar has captained India in 47 tests during the 1990s. His international playing career came to a controversial end when he was implicated in the infamous match-fixing scandal in 2000 and subsequently banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for life. 

In 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the ban on him.