Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin who was banned by the BCCI over match-fixing allegations is set to contest elections for the post of Hyderabad Cricket Association President.
Azhar filed his nomination papers on Tuesday. "I would like to bring some change and I will work hard to bring more talent in Indian cricket," he told reporters after filing his nomination papers.
Azhar’s decision comes as the BCCI is on a forced cleansing drive following the Supreme Court order which recently axed Anurag Thakur as the cricket body’s president. The apex court also removed Ajay Shirke as the Board Secretary for not complying with the Lodha panel recommendations.
“I want to serve Hyderabad cricket. It is in doldrums now despite the team making it to the Ranji Trophy semi-finals this year. The fact of the matter is that there is no development of the game and there are corruption issues in the HCA. I want to ensure that cricket flourishes in Telangana,” he said.
Azhar, a flamboyant batsman who led the Indian one-day side in three World Cups was handed a lifetime ban by the BCCI in December 2000, after allegations of match fixing surfaced against him.
In August 2000, the CBI claimed that Azhar confessed to fixing three ODIs played between India and South Africa. (You can read the detailed sequence of events here.)
The ban was subsequently lifted by the Hyderabad High Court in November 2012, which said that there was no evidence against the former India captain and the ban was illegal, according to his counsel.
During his time, he was one of the most successful Indian captains with 14 Tests and 90 ODI victories respectively.
In 2009, he joined the Congress party and became a Lok Sabha MP from Moradabad.