Mohammad Azharuddin appointed as Telangana Congress working president
New Delhi, Nov 30: Former Congress MP Mohammed Azharuddin was Friday appointed working president of the party in Telangana days ahead of assembly elections in the southern state.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also cleared some fresh appointments in the Telangana Pradesh Congress, approving the names of two vice presidents - B M Vinod Kumar and Jaffer Javed, eight new general secretaries and four secretaries in the state unit.
"Congress president Rahul Gandhi has approved the appointment of Mohammed Azharuddin, ex-MP, as working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee," a statement from AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot said.
Azharuddin was a former captain of the Indian cricket team. His cricket career came to an abrupt end when he was implicated in the infamous match-fixing scandal in 2000 and was banned by the BCCI for life. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2012 declared the life ban on him as illegal.
Azharuddin was an MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh in 2009, after he joined the Congress in the same year. He again unsuccessfully contested the 2014 election from Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency in 2014.
The former cricketer, who hails from Hyderabad, is seeking to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad constituency in Telangana.
Telangana goes to polls on December 7 and the Congress has forged an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the state to oust the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Government of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).
The Congress chief also appointed former Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit as Secretary of AICC and attached him to the AICC Civic and Social Outreach Congress.
Dikshit is the son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and has been an MP from the Delhi East constituency earlier.
The party chief also appointed Lingaraju as president of Karnataka Pradesh Fishermen Congress.
Among those appointed new general secretaries of Telangana Pradesh Congress are Jagadeeswara Rao, Nagesh Mudiraj, T Narsa Reddy, Manavatha Roy, Faheem, Kailash, Laxma Reddy and Krishank.
The new secretaries of TPCC are Durgam Bhaskar, Daruvu Ellanna, Vijay Kumar and Bala Laxmi.
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Appointment regarding office bearers of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. pic.twitter.com/aaGV3uCB8r
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Kohli's U-19 teammate Amanpreet Singh Gill dies at 36
New Delhi (PTI): Former India U-19 and Punjab medium pacer Amanpreet Singh Gill died at the age of 36 in Chandigarh on Wednesday, leaving the cricket fraternity in mourning.
The cause of death is not yet known.
Gill, who was Virat Kohli's U-19 teammate, featured in six first-class matches for Punjab, picking up 11 wickets.
He was also part of the Punjab franchise (Kings XI Punjab) in the inaugural Indian Premier League season, and later served as a member of Punjab's senior selection committee.
"Punjab Cricket Association deeply mourns the sad demise of Amanpreet Singh Gill, former Punjab cricketer and Member, Senior Selection Committee Punjab,” the Punjab Cricket Association announced on X.
"Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and loved ones. May Waheguru grant eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to the family in this difficult time."
Two-time World Cup-winning India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also paid tribute to Gill.
"Deeply saddened to hear about Amanpreet Singh Gill’s passing. Shared the dressing room in our early days, he was a quiet, hardworking cricketer who loved the game. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. Rest in peace Om Shanti,” Singh posted on X.
Gill played five Youth ODIs and one Youth Test for India in 2007.
In the longer format, he claimed the wicket of former Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera.
However, he did not make the Virat Kohli-led India U-19 side that went on to win the 2008 World Cup.
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Amanpreet Singh Shergill, who proudly represented Punjab and was a part of the Punjab Kings family. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and the entire cricketing fraternity,” Punjab Kings posted on their official Instagram account.
