Each cricketer was presented with a commemorative jersey on the occasion
Former Indian cricketers V.V.S. Laxman (from left), Venkatapathy Raju and Mohammad Azharuddin share a light moment at Thapar Stadium at AOC Centre in Secunderabad on Sunday. (Photo: Deepak Deshpande)
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad State Veterans’ Cricket Association organised a ‘Cricket Carnival’ at Thapar Stadium at AOC Centre in Secunderabad on Sunday wherein it felicitated former Test and Ranji cricketers from the city.
The Carnival was organised as a part of the 75th birthday celebrations of HSVCA president and former first-class cricketer Capt. Manohar Sharma. Each cricketer was presented with a commemorative jersey on the occasion.
Feted were players who had represented the state or country since 1960, and included former Test cricketers Mohammed Azharuddin, V.V.S. Laxman, S. Venkatapathy Raju and Arshad Ayub as well as Noel David, who played four ODIs for Team India.
Also among those honoured were former Ranji cricketers Vijay Mohan Raj, Noshir Mehta, Rajesh Yadav, Ehtesham, B. Mohan, D. Maheshwar Singh, R.A. Swaroop, Arvind Shetty, Abdul Azeem, Dilip Reddy, Shashank Nag, P.M. Rangaraj, Abdul Bari Wahab, Youraj Singh, M. Srinivas, Chetan Joshi, Moses Nithyanand, Prahlad, Jyoti Prasad, current Ranji players Akshath Reddy and Ahmed Quadri as well as former selector Lokender Raj, who had headed the panel which picked the side that won Hyderabad’s last Ranji title, in 1987.
Former India captain Azharuddin added a light touch to the occasion when he said: “Everybody says VVS (Laxman) plays like Azharuddin.
“The truth is,” he added self-deprecatingly, “It is Azhar who plays like VVS. Laxman is the best cricketer the state has ever produced.”
“This was a great opportunity to meet not only our contemporaries, but also selectors and coaches, “ Laxman said.
“This doesn’t happen quite as often as it should. We should meet once a year, learn from each other and work for the growth of cricket,” he added.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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