Former Indian Captain and cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin has been suspended from the post of the president of Hyderabad Cricket Association by its apex council.

The reason behind his suspension is that he violated the norms and rules of the board’s constitution and had a conflict of interest. However, the validity of suspension could be in doubt as only the general body of a state unit has the power to suspend, not the apex council.

Hyderabad Cricket Association’s apex body conflicted with Azharuddin for a while now. During the BCCI ‘s special general meeting, HCA wanted Shivlal Yadav, former Indian Cricketer to represent HCA, but BCCI intervened and allowed Azharuddin to be the representative.

The HCA suspension notice, according to PTI stated, “After considering the complaints made by the members against you (Azharuddin), it was decided at the Apex Council meeting on the 10th of this month to issue a show-cause notice on the ground that you have acted in violation of the rules.”

“The Apex Council is suspending you and your membership of HCA is being terminated until completion of the inquiry on these complaints,” the notice added.

The Apex Council also levelled charges of “misconduct” and various acts of “omission and commission” against Azharuddin. The conflict charges stated that Azharuddin had not disclosed that he owned a T10 team in Dubai which is a violation of norms of BCCI’s constitution. 

The notice stated, “The complaint discloses that you are a mentor of a private cricket club in Dubai by name Northern Warriors which participates in a T10 cricket tournament which is unrecognized by the BCCI. The fact of you being a mentor has not been communicated to the HCA at any time. Therefore you being a mentor of an unrecognized tournament comes under the ambit of conflict of interest as envisaged under Rule 38 (1) (iii) of the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations 2018 of HCA.”

Azharuddin reacts to the showcause notice

Mohammad Azharuddin on his part called this decision a part of the vendetta. He issued a statement and said, “Today, the institution of cricket administration itself is under threat by these false narratives being published in the media. Please verify the truthfulness of the information, hear the other side, then take a rational view in line with the HCA constitution before you publish something because the society believes what you write.”

He also added, “All their efforts have gone in vain. Their intention to scuttle the appointment of the Ombudsman might be because of the lurking fear that their multiple clubs acquired through manipulation and fraud will be exposed and they may lose their valuable property – the cash cow that sucks the blood of cricketers from a 14-year-old boy to a 23-year-old youngster aspiring to realize their dreams.”

Mohammad Azharuddin became the president of Hyderabad Cricket Association in September 2019.