Mohammed Azharuddin to address HCA corruption charges after first India-West Indies T20I

Former India captain and Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president Mohammed Azharuddin, on Thursday, insisted that he would address the corruption charges against his governing body after hosting the T20I series opener between India and West Indies on December 6, 2019. Senior Hyderabad batsman Ambati Rayudu raised a number of eyebrows by sensationally announcing that he would not play Ranji Trophy for the side due to the ‘rampant corruption’ by the officials.

The India batsman alleged that undeserving players are being selected in the team due to influential backgrounds. He also urged Azharuddin to ‘isolate himself from the seasoned crooks’ and clean up the mess. Rayudu, who was Hyderabad captain in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, had tweeted to Telangana’s Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao, asking him to look into the corruption prevailing at the HCA.

Well, Azharuddin has stated that he would address the matter but only after the first T20I. The HCA supremo made it clear that he doesn’t want to take the focus away from the match by talking about the issue related to corruption.

“Since this is a T20 game which we are holding, I don’t want to take anything away from the game. I want you to report only on this game, focus on the T20 game. I am sure you must have come very well prepared. After the sixth, if there is anything, we will have another press conference. I will address the other things which have been happening in the recent past,” Azharuddin was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Mohammad Azharuddin has stated that HCA is prepared to host the first T20I

Mohammad Azharuddin also stated that the state association is ‘fully prepared’ to host the India-West Indies T20I. Mumbai and Hyderabad were originally scheduled to host the first and third T20I on December 6 and December 11, respectively. However, the BCCI had to swap the venues after Mumbai police said that they would not be able to provide adequate security due to other commitments.

“I think we are fully prepared. It’s very a tough thing to hold a match. Since it’s my first match as an administrator … when I was playing, I used to play the game and go back home or go back to the hotel. But, this thing, it’s a different responsibility,” said Azharuddin who was selected as HCA boss in September only.

[interaction id=”5dc6c071daa233047a27bb8a”]