Mohammad Azharuddin, president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, has addressed the chaos that broke out at the Gymkhana ground on Thursday morning, saying it is unfair to put the blame on the body. A stampede erupted at the venue where the tickets for the third India vs Australia T20I were up for sale, with police using lathi-charge on the massive crowd that had turned up. Azharuddin stated that although his sympathies are with those affected by this unfortunate turn of events, he does not think HCA was at any fault.
"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 which was also attended by Sports Minister V Srinivas Goud, who sought an explanation from HCA members.
Approximately 30,000 people were waiting in long queues for a total of 3000 tickets that went up for sale, and this led to utter chaos, leading to a stampede in which 20 people were injured. Certain videos of the unfortunate incident have surfaced on social media to demonstrate the seriousness of the matter. Azharuddin mentioned that with Hyderabad hosting a cricket match after a long gap, there ought to be problems and that he and his team will provide the follow-up information to the media as and when available.
"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," added the former India captain.
{{/usCountry}}"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," added the former India captain.
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