‘We have done nothing wrong’ - HCA president Mohammad Azharuddin after ticket stampede row

The third T20I between India and Australia is scheduled to take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on September 25 and the tickets were up for sale on Thursday morning. The fans arrived in numbers and it created a chaos at the Gymkhana ground, which forced the police to lathi charge to control the situation.

Few of them were injured and the Hyderabad police had even filed three cases against the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). The HCA President Mohammad Azharuddin has now come in defence of the state body and said that the three-year gap in hosting an international game has led to the events.  

We are with the fans who were injured in the morning incidents: Mohammad Azharuddin 

Azharuddin highlighted the difficulties of hosting an international game and felt that the HCA board has made no mistake. The former Indian cricketer sympathised with the injured fans and assured of a complete report of the ticket availability. He added that the long gap was one of the major reasons behind the chaos and reckoned that the board will ensure that the game does not get affected in any manner.

"It is not as easy to conduct a match as sitting in this room and discussing. We have done nothing wrong. We are with the fans who were injured in the morning incidents, and the HCA will take care of them completely. I will give a complete report on the sale of tickets, availability and other details to the Minister and he will tell you what is correct and what is wrong," Azharuddin said during a conference attended by Sports Minister V Srinivas Goud.  

"There are going to be problems. Yes, the public wants to see the match after a three-year gap. But, again, not all of them can do it. We will give all the details at the media briefing on Friday. We have nothing to hide. But, at the same time, we have to make sure the game goes forward. The Supreme Court has not given any order restraining my powers," he added.