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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Had a very good conversation with friend Modi: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "very good conversation" with his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was referring to the talks the two leaders had on Tuesday.
"I had a very good talk with him, and he's a friend of mine from India, and he's doing great. We had a very good conversation," Trump told reporters here as he headed to Las Vegas to address a roundtable on tax cuts.
Trump had called Modi on Tuesday to discuss the bilateral relationship and share perspectives on the situation in West Asia, where the US and Israel have launched a war on Iran.
The US and Iran declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7. They engaged in peace talks with Washington, insisting that Tehran give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment.
The war with Iran has sent gas prices soaring as Tehran blocked the sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for a fifth of global oil supplies.
During the Trump-Modi phone call on Tuesday, the two leaders stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
According to the US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor, the 40-minute conversation ended with Trump telling Modi, "we all love you".
Tuesday's phone call was the second between the two leaders since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
