Azhar, BCCI advised to settle dispute

The Andhra Pradesh high court has advised former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and the Board of Control for Cricket in India to settle their entire dispute out of court, while observing that courts were "ill-equipped to deal with specialised subjects like sports".

The dispute, which arose after Azharuddin challenged BCCI's decision to impose a life ban on him, has "not only affected the game but also shook the confidence of cricket lovers", Justice Motilal B Naik observed on Friday while dealing with a civil revision petition filed by the former captain against the orders passed by the second additional chief judge of the Hyderabad civil court.

The city civil court had, in November last year, directed Azhar to delete certain portions of his pleadings, which were "scandalous in nature".

Azhar had, in his civil suit, contended that the inquiry conducted by K Madhavan was "highly motivated" and that BCCI was indulging in a witch-hunt without giving him the opportunity to put across his point of view.

In his civil revision petition before the high court, Azhar sought various relief's including a declaration that disqualifying him from participating in Test cricket was "bad in law" and setting aside Madhavan's report which formed the basis for imposing life ban on him.

Justice Naik, while observing that match fixing charges had left a scar on cricket, said it was desirable that both parties settle the dispute by March 1.

The judge directed the case to be listed on March 1 for further consideration.

The complete coverage of the betting scandal

Mail Cricket Editor