Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former cricketer who also served as the Indian national cricket team's captain. He was a right-handed middle order batter and an occasional medium fast bowler. He played 99 Test matches and 334 One Day Internationals for India. As a captain, he led the team to wins in the 1990-91 and 1995 Asia Cups and reached the semi-finals of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. He was considered as one of the best ODI batsmen in the world and one of the greatest of his era. He captained India in three Cricket World Cups, the most by any Indian captain, all during the 1990s. He was also a part of the Indian squad which won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.

His cricketing career came to an abrupt end in 2000 after he was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for life due to his alleged involvement in a match fixing scandal. In 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the life ban after appeal. In September 2019, he was elected as the president of Hyderabad Cricket Association.

In 2009, Azharuddin joined Indian National Congress and was elected as a member of parliament for Moradabad. He was appointed as the President of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee in 2018.

Early life

Azharuddin was born on 8 February 1963 in Hyderabad to Mohammad Azizuddin and Yousuf Sultana. He attended All Saints High School and graduated from Nizam College, Osmania University, with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Azharuddin recalled that his maternal uncle Mir Zainulabiddin "who captained the Osmania University inspired imto take to cricket". Additionally, one Brother K. M. Joseph of the All Saints High School played a role in inculcating the passion for cricket in him. This was around 1973. Starting the 1977 season, Azharuddin was part of his high school team playing in the Hyderabad cricket league. He would subsequently play for the Deccan Blues team before going on to represent Osmania University in inter-university tournaments.

Azharuddin began as a seam bowler before progressing quickly to bat at number three, besides being the third seamer, for Hyderabad Schools in the South Zone Schools against the visiting English Schools side. He made his first-class debut aged 18 in the Ranji Trophy in its 1981–82 season playing for Hyderabad. In the 1982–83 and 1983–84 domestic seasons, Azharuddin scored 2,648 and 2,499 runs respectively. His performances received recognition when he scored a double-century in the Duleep Trophy in January 1984, playing for South Zone. In December that year, he scored centuries in both innings of the Ranji Trophy match against Andhra. In the same month, he earned a Test callup, against the visiting English side as a replacement to Sandeep Patil, in the Third Test of the series to be played at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

Career

Debut and early years

Azharuddin made his international debut for on 31 December 1984. He scored 110 in his first innings. He subsequently scored two more centuries in his next two Test matches in the series, and became the first player to score three centuries in as many Tests. Following the Test series, Azharuddin made his One Day International (ODI) debut against the same opposition at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on 20 January 1985. He made an unbeaten 47. A month later, his unbeaten 93 took his team to victory against Pakistan at the World Championship of Cricket in a group stage fixture.

After a lean patch of form in the Test format, Azharuddin scored his fourth Test century in 1986 against the visiting Sri Lankans in Kanpur. He made 199, which included a 272-run stand with Kapil Dev for the sixth in the first innings. The match resulted in a draw.

Captaincy of national team

In 1989, Azharuddin was appointed as the captain of the Indian team succeeding Krishnamachari Srikkanth. He led the Indian team in 47 Test matches and 174 One Day Internationals. He led the team to victory in 14 tests and 90 ODIs, both records until surpassed by Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni respectively.

During India's tour of England in 1990, Azharuddin scored 121 in the first Test at Lord's. Though India lost the match, former England cricketer Vic Marks called it "the most dazzling Test century" he had ever witnessed, in his column for ''The Observer''. In the second Test in Manchester, Azharuddin scored his tenth Test century, making 179 runs while putting on a 112-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar in the first innings. Playing his 39th Test, he reached his century off 155 balls. Azharuddin ended the series with 426 runs at an average of 85.20 which was the highest tally by an India captain in a Test series in England until it was broken by Virat Kohli in 2018.

Asia Cup victories and World Cups

Azharuddin led India to victory in the 1990–91 Asia Cup beating Sri Lanka in the final. He scored 54 runs in the final and was named Man of the Match. He then led India at the 1992 World Cup where his team were knocked out in the group stage and finished seventh out of nine teams with two wins in eight matches. India won the 1995 Asia Cup beating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the final where Azharuddin captained the side and won the man of the match scoring runs. Azharuddin again led the team in the 1996 World Cup co-hosted by India. India finished in third place in the group stage, qualifying for the quarter finals where they beat Pakistan by 39 runs to make it to the semi finals. India lost in the semifinals to Sri Lanka after the match was abandoned midway due to crowd trouble when India were eight wickets down for 120 runs in response to Sri Lanka's score of 251/8.

Later years

During the second test of South Africa's India tour in 1996–97 at Kolkata, Azharuddin scored a century off 74 deliveries equaling Kapil Dev's record for the fastest test century by an India player and fourth overall, in terms of balls faced. Azharuddin scored another century in the next test making an unbeaten 163 and helped India record their biggest win in Test history in terms of runs (280) at the time. He was named the man of the match and the series after aggregating 388 runs at an average of 77.60 Azharuddin scored seven centuries in ODIs with a best of 153 coming against Zimbabwe on 9 April 1998 in Cuttack. He scored the last of his 22 centuries in tests against South Africa in Bangalore in March 2000, which also turned out to be the last test match in his career. Azharuddin played the final match of his international career in an ODI against Pakistan on 3 June 2000 in the 2000 Asia Cup.

Match fixing allegations and ban

During India's tour of South Africa in 2000, a series that was won by India 3–2, Azharuddin scored only 112 runs at an average of 28. he was accused of match fixing in the match fixing scandal that erupted in the aftermath of the series. Then captain of South Africa Hansie Cronje stated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to bookies. International Cricket Council and BCCI banned Azharuddin for life based on a report by Central Bureau of Investigation.

Post-retirement

In 2003, a trial court upheld the lifetime ban but it was later overturned on 8 November 2012 by a divisional bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. In 2019, Azhar was elected as the president of Hyderabad Cricket Association.

Personal life

Azharuddin married Naureen in 1987 and they had two sons, Mohammad Asaduddin and Mohammad Ayazuddin. In 1996, he divorced Naureen and married actress Sangeeta Bijlani. After Azharuddin's rumored affairs with multiple people, notably badminton player Jwala Gutta, Sangeeta filed for a divorce in 2010. His younger son Ayazuddin died in a bike accident in 2011. His elder son Asaduddin is a domestic cricketer and he married Anam Mirza, the sister of Sania Mirza in 2019.

Playing style

Azharuddin was a right handed middle order batsman and an occasional medium fast bowler. He was known for his graceful and fluid batting style. John Woodcock, a cricket writer, said of him, "It's no use asking an Englishman to bat like Mohammad Azharuddin. It would be like expecting a greyhound to win The Derby." Former cricketer and umpire Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan stated that "Azharuddin had the best wrists in the game". Mike Atherton and Angus Fraser said Azharuddin's "genius was second only to Brian Lara among batsmen of their generation."

Statistics

Predominantly a middle order batsman, Azharuddin played 99 test matches for India and scored 6,215 runs at an average of 45.03, including 22 centuries and 21 half-centuries. He scored 9,378 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 334 matches at an average of 36.92 and 156 catches as a fielder. Azharuddin made his debut with a 110 against England in Kolkata in 1984 and scored 102 against South Africa in Bangalore in his last match, becoming the first Indian and the fifth batsman ever to score a century in his first and last Test matches.

Political career

Azharuddin joined Indian National Congress party on 19 February 2009. He won the 2009 general election from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh to become a member of parliament. He contested the 2014 election from Tonk–Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan but lost to Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2018, he was appointed working president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. He contested the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad but lost to Maganti Gopinath of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

Awards

Azharuddin was awarded the Arjuna Award#Arjun Awardees in Cricket, Arjuna Award in 1986 and India's fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri in 1988. He was named one of five ''Wisdens cricketers of the year for 1991.
Azharuddin has also received doctorate degree (honoris causa) from Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi on 21 September 2023.

In popular culture

The Bollywood film '' Azhar'', directed by Tony D'Souza, was based on his life. The film featured Emraan Hashmi as Azharuddin and was released on 13 May 2016. The Netflix film ''Caught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricket.'' depicting the investigations and allegations of match fixing against former cricketers including Mohammad Azharuddin premiered on 17 March 2023.

References

External links

*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azharuddin, Mohammad
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
India Test cricket captains
Cricketers who made a century on Test debut
Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
Indian cricketers
Derbyshire cricketers
Indian expatriate cricketers in England
South Zone cricketers
Hyderabad cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Politicians from Hyderabad, India
1963 births
Living people
Cricketers from Hyderabad, India
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
India MPs 2009–2014
Osmania University alumni
Indian sportsperson-politicians
Indian Sunni Muslims
Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh
United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election
Indian cricket commentators
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
People from Moradabad district
Cricketers banned for corruption
Sportspeople banned for life
All Saints High School (Hyderabad) alumni
Hyderabadi Muslims
Indian National Congress politicians from Telangana