Mohammad Azharuddin elected HCA president

HYDERABAD: Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin is back from the wilderness. One of India's most successful captains, Azhar was on Friday elected president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).
The panel led by 56-year-old Azhar swept the polls. Of the total 223 votes, Azhar got 147 while his main opponent Prakash Chand Jain was a distant second with 73 and Dileep Kumar polled three votes.
Azhar, who led India in 47 Tests and 174 One-day Internationals, made an unsuccessful bid for the HCA president's post in 2017.He was disqualified on technical grounds then but there was no stopping the elegant right-hander of yesteryears.
"My main objective is to revive Hyderabad cricket which has suffered a lot in the last three years," an elated Azhar said after the results were declared. "Though it's not an easy task, we will work hard to bring back the past glory. Since we've got the full support of the panel, we can work in tandem. I am very thankful to the club secretaries as they rallied around me," he said.
Azhar was a front-runner in the lead-up to the election and clearly benefited from the support of N Shivlal Yadav and Arshad Ayub. "You never know what can happen in the elections as I have contested in general elections in the past," he said and added that he was looking forward to attend the BCCI meeting.
Life has come a full circle for a veteran of 99 Tests and 334 ODIs, probably one of the few batsmen who ended his career as he had started - with a ton. The match-fixing scandal ended his career in 2000 and faded into oblivion till the then Andhra Pradesh high court reprieved him in 2012.
"When election is fair, my nomination could not have been rejected (two years ago), but (now) fair election has happened. Sampath sir followed clear-cut rules and regulations. That's why a proper election happened," he said while lauding the Electoral officer VS Sampath.
The only Indian captain to lead the country in three editions of the World Cup (1992, 1996 and 1999), Azhar has his task cut out in reforming an association plagued by dissent and corruption. Infusing life into league cricket that once produced cricketers for the country would also be a priority for him.