Most Indian captains who led Test teams in the post-1970 era, including Azharuddin, will be honoured by UPCA before the start of India's 500th Test match at Green Park in Kanpur when they take on New Zealand
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Kanpur: Most Indian captains who led Test teams in the post-1970 era will be honoured by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) before the start of India's 500th Test match at Green Park in Kanpur when they take on New Zealand in the first Test on September 22.
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The only captain of the pre-1970 era to be invited is Chandu Borde who led India in a Test when the late Nawab of Pataudi was injured on the 1967-68 tour of Australia. As many as 12 captains, including Borde, have given their consent to attend the function. The names missing among the recent captains are Rahul Dravid, who is away with India 'A' team in Australia, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is abroad promoting his biopic, which is set to release on September 30.
Venkat, Bedi excluded?
"We are also trying to contact Dhoni, who is abroad for personal reasons. Hopefully, we will hear from him soon," said UPCA secretary Rajeev Shukla in Kanpur yesterday. Gundappa Vishwanath, who captained India in the Board's Golden Jubilee Test match in 1980, is unwell and may not make it to Kanpur, it is learnt. Also missing will be Srinivas Venkataraghavan, who hails from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) led by N Srinivasan and Bishan Singh Bedi, who has always been at war with the Indian cricket board.
Shukla said: "The UPCA in planning to make the occasion memorable by honouring former India captains before the start of India's 500th Test. When asked about the invitation to Azharuddin, who was once banned by BCCI for alleged match fixing, Shukla said: "Azharuddin has been attending BCCI functions in the past and he will be here too." He also said that the state governor Ram Naik, along with BCCI president Anurag Thakur, secretary Ajay Shirke and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary will grace the occasion.
UPCA has printed 12,000 special T-shirts commemorating India's 500th Test match, which will be distributed to school children and spectators who will witness the match.
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