Mohammad Azharuddin

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Mohammad Azharuddin

Member of Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
2009
Preceded by Shafiqur Rahman Barq
Constituency Moradabad
Personal details
Political party INC
Religion Islam
As of 1 July, 2009
Mohammad Azharuddin
Personal information
Full name Mohammad Azharuddin
Born (1963-02-08) 8 February 1963
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Nickname Ajju
Azzu Bhai[1]
Batting style Right-handed batsman
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Role Batsman
International information
National side
  • India
Test debut (cap 169) 30 December 1984 v England
Last Test 2 March 2000 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 51) 20 January 1985 v England
Last ODI 3 June 2000 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1981–2000 Hyderabad
1983–2000 South Zone
1991–1994 Derbyshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 99 334 229 433
Runs scored 6,216 9,378 15,855 12,941
Batting average 45.03 36.92 51.98 39.33
100s/50s 22/21 7/58 54/74 11/85
Top score 199 153* 226 161*
Balls bowled 13 552 1,432 827
Wickets 0 12 17 15
Bowling average – 39.91 46.23 47.26
5 wickets in innings – 0 0 0
10 wickets in match – n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling 0/4 3/19 3/36 3/19
Catches/stumpings 105/– 156/– 220/– 200/–
Source: CricketArchive, 13 February 2009

Mohammad Azharuddin  pronunciation (help·info) (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and former cricketer. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until being banned[2] for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.[3] The lifetime ban for his alleged match fixing was later found illegal by Andhra Pradesh High Court. A member of the Indian National Congress, Azharuddin won from the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.

In his prime, he had a graceful, fluid batting style, comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower and Australian batsman Greg Chappell. The wrist flick was his most characteristic shot and he fared best against spinners. The grace and fluidity of his wrist once prompted John Woodcock, a noted cricket writer, to say, "It's no use asking an Englishman to bat like Mohammad Azharuddin. For, it would be like expecting a greyhound to win the London Derby!"[4]

On 8 November 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the life ban on Azharuddin, implicated in the match-fixing scandal of 2000. The High Court said the ban was “unsustainable”.[5]

Former Indian captain and International umpire Venkataraghavan stated "Azharuddin had the best wrists in the game, but Tendulkar isn't too far behind" while praising Sachin Tendulkar.[6] In Oct 2010, Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan called him one of the best players in cricket on par with Sachin Tendulkar.[7]

Early life

Azhar, as he is popularly known, grew up in Hyderabad and attended All Saints High School, Hyderabad in Hyderabad. Indian cricketers such as Venkatapathy Raju and Noel David are also alumni of the same school. While playing cricket, he graduated from Nizam College, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh with a degee of B Com (Bachelor of Commerce).

Family and personal life

Azharuddin, who turned 50 on 8 February 2013, was first married to Hyderabad based Naureen, who he divorced after 9 years of marriage to tie the knot with model-actor Sangeeta Bijlani in 1996. His marriage to Bijlani, however, lasted 14 years and the couple separated in 2010. He was briefly linked to badminton player Jwala Gutta afterwards, though the rumoured affair was strongly denied both by Gutta and Azhar. His first wife was Naureen, with whom he had two sons, Asad and Ayaz. His son Ayaz, aged 19 years, died in a road accident on 16 September 2011.

International career

Highlights

Azhar scored a final total of 22 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 45, and 7 in ODIs at an average of 37. He has the unique distinction of scoring a century in each of his first three Tests – a feat unmatched till date. An excellent fielder, he took 156 catches in ODI cricket which was a world record until Mahela Jayawardene surpassed him. He has held world records for maximum ODI runs and fastest ODI hundred which were subsequently broken by other players. He also scored centuries in his first and last Tests.

During India's 1990 Test series in England, Azhar came in to bat when his team was facing the prospect of following on and scored an aggressive century in just 87 balls. Many regard this as his best innings ever. India was saved from the follow-on but lost the match and the series.

His highest Test score is 199 in a Test match against Sri Lanka.

Eden Gardens, Kolkata proved to be happy hunting ground for Azhar where he scored 5 centuries in 7 Tests at an average of 107.50.

In 1991 he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year and was, for many years, an inspirational figure in the Indian team due to his athletic fielding and leadership.

Azhar eventually was stranded one short of 100 Tests milestone following unfortunate events involving match fixing, that led to a ban imposed for life by BCCI. The Andhra Pradesh high court on 8 November 2012 declared the ban as illegal after 12 years.[8]

Captaincy

Azharuddin was captain of the Indian team for most of the 1990s. Statistically he is one of India's most successful captains, winning 103 ODIs, which is still an Indian record.[9] His 14 Test Match wins as captain, was a record until it was bettered by then Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly with 21 test match wins.

Match fixing scandal

Towards the end of his career Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing;[10] South African captain Hansie Cronje, in his confession for match-fixing, had indicated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to the bookies.[11] India's premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, conducted an investigation and published a report.[3]

The BCCI claimed that it imposed the life ban on Azhar, after he had admitted to fixing three ODI matches,[12] and this led the BCCI to ban him from the game for life in 2000. The BCCI lifted the ban on Azharuddin in 2006 and even honoured him along with other Indian Test captains in a ceremony in Mumbai during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. The ICC, however, claimed that it alone had the right to revoke the ban despite playing no role in handing out the original ban.

In one of his interviews, Azhar claimed that he was being targeted because he was from a minority community.[13]

High Court Judgment against ban

On 8 November 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the life ban on Azharuddin, implicated in the match-fixing scandal of 2000. The High Court said the ban was “unsustainable”.[5][14]

Political career

Azhruddin formally joined the Indian National Congress party on 19 February 2009. He contested the Indian general election, 2009 from Moradabad in western Uttar Pradesh. He won the elections as a candidate of Indian National Congress party by defeating his nearest BJP rival Kunvar Sarvesh Kumar Singh with a margin of more than 50,000 votes. He has promised to construct a University and a Stadium as well in Moradabad. He has also promised to improve the city's electricity problem[15]

Test statistics

Mohammad Azharuddin's career performance graph.

By opponent

Australia

  • 780 runs at 39.00 with 2 hundreds

England

  • 1278 runs at 58.09 with 6 hundreds

New Zealand

  • 796 runs at 61.23 with 2 hundreds

Pakistan

  • 769 runs at 40.47 with 3 hundreds

South Africa

  • 779 runs at 41.00 with 4 hundreds

Sri Lanka

  • 1215 runs at 55.23 with 5 hundreds

West Indies

  • 539 runs at 28.37 with 0 hundreds

Zimbabwe

  • 59 runs at 14.75 with 0 hundreds

Total

  • 6215 runs at 45.04 with 22 hundreds

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sport / Cricket : Of comparisons and imitations. The Hindu (2011-03-01). Retrieved on 2012-07-14.
  2. ↑ "Twelve years on, Mohammad Azharuddin’s life ban set aside". Zeenews.india.com. Retrieved 2012-12-10. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Full text of the CBI report. Report on cricket match-fixing and related malpractises, October 2000". Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi. rediff.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
  4. ↑ Inzy's behaviour was immature: Azhar. HindustanTimes.com via MSN India
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "AP high court lifts ban on Azharuddin". Wisden India. 8 November 2012. 
  6. ↑ Dwaipayan Datta (2009-11-15). My job didn't let me clap when he batted: Venkataraghavan. The Times of India
  7. ↑ Account Suspended. Cricindian.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-13.
  8. ↑ "Azharuddin: Today I am relieved, my conscience was always clear – Times Of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-12-10. 
  9. ↑ "Virat Kohli has to behave like a captain, says Mohammad Azharuddin". The Indian Express. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014. 
  10. ↑ "BBC SPORT | CORRUPTION IN CRICKET | Azharuddin hit with life ban". BBC News. 5 December 2000. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
  11. ↑ "cricket channel – The CBI Report, in full". rediff.com. 1 November 2000. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 
  12. ↑ "Azharuddin hit with life ban". BBC News. 5 December 2000. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
  13. ↑ Magazine, Pradeep. "Azharuddin and 4 Others Are Punished for Cricket Match Fixing : Former India Captain Banned", The New York Times, 6 December 2000, accessed 30 March 2011.
  14. ↑ "Azharuddin: Today I am relieved, my conscience was always clear". Retrieved 8 November 2012. 
  15. ↑ 4540534.cms "Congress wins 21 seats in Uttar Pradesh, stumps rivals". The Economic Times. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 

External links

Preceded by
Krishnamachari Srikkanth		 Indian National Test Cricket Captain
1989/90 – 1996 		Succeeded by
Sachin Tendulkar
Preceded by
Sachin Tendulkar		 Indian National Test Cricket Captain
1997/98 – 1998/99 		Succeeded by
Sachin Tendulkar
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