Azhar skips Moin-ud Dowla opener

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, dropped from the probables for the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi, skipped the inaugural match of the Moin-ud Dowla Gold Cup cricket tournament in Hyderabad on Monday.

He was to lead Hyderabad XI but did not turn up at the Gymkhana grounds where his team was scheduled to meet Vidarbha in a Group 'A' fixture.

In his absence, his deputy Nandakishore led the team.

A large number of fans who turned up at the venue left disappointed. The organisers said Azharruddin had net practice the last two days, but his surprising absence forced Nandakishore to go in for the toss.

Hyderabad take on BPL, Bangalore, on Tuesday in their second league match. The organisers were unable to say whether Azhar would play in the match.

Fifteen teams in four groups, which include Test stars Javagal Srinath, Sunil Joshi, Venkatesh Prasad, Venkatapathi Raju, Robin Singh, Vijay Baradwaj, Dodda Ganesh and VVS Laxman, are vying for honours and a cash prize of Rs 100,000.

Mail Cricket Editor