Azharuddin calls on KTR amid talks of joining TRS

Former Indian captain and newly-elected President of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) Mohammad Azharuddin on Saturday called on Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President and cabinet minister K. T. Rama Rao amid speculations that he is quitting Congress party to join TRS.

A day after being elected as the HCA President, the former MP and Working President of Congress party's Telangana union called on Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR.

Azharuddin, however, told reporters later that it was a courtesy call and they did not discuss politics. The former captain said he sought the government's support for his efforts to promote the game of cricket.

He claimed that Rama Rao assured full support from the government. The minister also told him that the government is giving priority to sports.

He said he would also meet Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and seek his blessings for the efforts to improve the standards of Hyderabad cricket.

"We can achieve the goal only by working together," he said.

Azharuddin was accompanied by five other office-bearers of HCA, who were elected from his panel in Friday's elections.

With his election as HCA President, Azharuddin will be beginning a new innings, nearly two decades after he was banned from playing cricket for his alleged involvement in match fixing.

Though Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the ban on him in 2012, it was too late for him to return to the game as a player.

The 56-year-old had joined Congress party before 2009 elections and was elected to Lok Sabha from Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh. He, however, lost the polls from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan in 2014.

( With inputs from IANS )