BCCI Working Committee to discuss on Azharuddin tomorrow

The BCCI's Working Committee will meet here tomorrow to discuss the course of action on former captain Mohammad Azharuddin after the ban imposed on him by the Board was lifted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court earlier this month.

"The Working Committee will discuss what action will be taken on Azharuddin after the High Court lifted the ban imposed on him by the Board," a BCCI official told PTI on condition of anonymity. BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty, however, described tomorrow's meeting a routine affair.

"It's a routine meeting of the Working Committee," he said. Twelve years after the BCCI imposed a life ban on Azharuddin from playing cricket on charges of alleged involvement in match-fixing, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 8 set aside the decision of the Board.

A division bench of the High Court set aside the order of a local court, which had upheld the decision of the Board, on an appeal by the 49-year-old Azharuddin. The bench agreed that there was no evidence against the former Indian skipper-turned-politician that he succumbed to any pressure while playing cricket and that the BCCI had proceeded against him unilaterally.

Meanwhile, the Governing Council of the IPL will meet after the Working Committee meeting, and Shetty said it will also discuss routine matters. The Marketing Committee of the Board will also meet to take a decision on the floating of tenders for the title rights of the IPL.

The DLF has ended its title sponsorship of the IPL and the Board will have to float a new tender.

Later in the evening, the Annual Awards ceremony of the BCCI will be held.

Virat Kohli, V V S Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar will be among the top stars who will be honoured during the ceremony.

Kohli will be presented with the Polly Umrigar Award for being India's top cricketer in the 2011-12 season. The BCCI will present him with a trophy and a cheque of Rs 5 lakh.

Veterans Laxman and Tendulkar will also be honoured at the event. While Laxman will be felicitated after announcing his retirement earlier this year, Tendulkar will be honoured for completing 100 international centuries.

The other highlights of the evening will include presenting the Col C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award to Sunil Gavaskar and the posthumous felicitation of seven legends of Indian cricket -- Vijay Merchant, Vijay Manjrekar, Dattu Phadkar, Vinoo Mankad, Ghulam Ahmed, M L Jaisimha and Dilip Sardesai.