HCA ordered to remove Mohammed Azharuddin's name from Uppal Stadium stand: Report
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has been ordered to remove Former Indian Cricket Team captain Mohammed Azharuddin’s name from the North Pavilion Stand of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. The directive comes following an order from the HCA's Ombudsman and Ethics Officer, Justice V. Eswaraiah, who cited a clear conflict of interest in the decision to name the stand after Azharuddin.
The controversy dates back to a November 25, 2019, Apex Council meeting chaired by Azharuddin, during which the decision was made to rename the VVS Laxman Pavilion as the ‘Azharuddin Stand’.
According to a report from Cricbuzz, the ruling was passed on April 19 after a complaint was lodged earlier this year by city-based outfit Lords Cricket Club (LCC), one of HCA’s 226 affiliated units. The complaint, filed on February 28, 2025, argued that naming the North Stand after Azharuddin was in violation of HCA’s Memorandum of Association and its internal rules.
Moreover, the petitioner also pleaded to rename the Azharuddin stand as the VVS Laxman pavilion "for all practical purposes including but not limited to signages, printing of tickets etc. and pass any such order or orders as are deemed fit and proper in the circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice."
Azharuddin, however, has denied all charges of a conflict of interest and said that he will approach the High Court challenging Eswaraiah’s order.
“There’s no conflict of interest in this. I don’t want to comment, I don’t want to stoop to this level. The cricketing world will laugh at the association. 17 years of cricket, almost 10 years as captain of the side, and with distinction. This is how you treat cricketers in Hyderabad. It’s a very sad state of affairs,” the 62-year-old was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
Azharuddin added that legal recourse would certainly be taken, stating, “We will definitely go to court, and the law will take its course.”
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Ranchi: Temple guard bludgeoned to death during robbery attempt, 3 held
Ranchi (PTI): A 60-year-old security guard of a temple in Ranchi was bludgeoned to death with a stone during a robbery attempt, police said on Saturday.
The incident happened late on Thursday at the Jagannath Temple in the Dhurwa Smart City area, they said.
"Three persons were arrested on Friday for killing the security guard. They confessed to the crime and told police that the victim had identified them. Therefore, in fear of being caught, they killed him by attacking him with a stone on his head," SSP Rakesh Ranjan said.
"Thereafter, they took money from the donation box and fled the scene. Two of them have criminal antecedents," he added.
Ranjan said the investigators recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash that had been robbed, the stone with blood-stained marks, and the iron rod used to break open the lock of the donation box kept there.
An FIR in this regard was lodged at the Dhurwa police station, he said, adding that the accused were sent to judicial custody by a court.
