'Decision on Azhar's future in BCCI deferred'

The working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India failed to reach a consensus on whether Mohammad Azharuddin should be brought back under its fold following the Andhra Pradesh high court's decision to lift the life ban on him.

"The decision on Azharuddin's future in BCCI has been deferred. The working committee was undecided on whether to appeal against the decision or not. The legal team is still studying the case and it will still take some time to reach a conclusion," a senior BCCI official, preferring anonymity, said on Wednesday after the working committee's meeting in Mumbai.

- The betting scandal

- The match-fixing episode

Earlier this month, 12 years after the BCCI imposed a life ban on the former India captain from playing cricket, following his alleged involvement in the match-fixing episode, the Andhra Pradesh high court, set aside the cricket body's decision. It observed that there was no evidence against the former cricketer-turned-politician that he succumbed to any pressure while playing cricket.

The court also observed that the BCCI had proceeded against the 49-year-old Azharuddin unilaterally and said the order of the trial court is unsustainable.

In another major decision, the BCCI also decided to dole out a one-time benefit payment to around 50 cricketers who had a "touch and go" case in terms of the number of matches played and the year of retirement.

"The total disbursement for one-time benefit of ex-players is Rs 100 crore. There were a number of players who had said played 74 matches and missed the mark by a match. Also, there were some players who had played close to 100 matches or more but retired one year after the cut-off date. All these players will be given the one-time benefit by the board," the official informed.

The Working Committee also decided to appeal against the decision taken by the three-member tribunal on paying Rs 120 crore to Zee Entertainment Enterprise as damages for termination of telecast rights of India's home matches back in 2007.

"The working committee has decided to appeal against the verdict of the three-member tribunal," the member said.