Mohammad Azharuddn

Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh) is a former captain of the Indian cricket team. He was an elegant right-handed batsman and usually batted at five in Test cricket. He was caught in a match-fixing scandal.
In his prime, he had a graceful, fluid batting style, comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower. 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!"

Early Life

Azhar, as he is popularly known, grew up in Hyderabad and attended a catholic convent boys school All Saints High School. Incidentally, a lot of other cricketers from Hyderabad - Venkatpathy Raju, Noel David - also attended the same school.

International career

Highlights

Azhar scored a total of 22 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 45, and 7 in ODIs at an average of 37. He scored a century in each of his first three Tests which is a record. An excellent fielder, he took a world record 156 catches in ODI cricket.
He was given LBW out for 199 in a test match against Sri Lanka and it was his highest Test Score.
In 1991 he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year and was for many years an inspirational figure in the Indian team with his athletic fielding and leadership.

Captaincy

Azhar was captain of the Indian team for most of the 1990s. Statistically he is one of India's most successful captains. He won a record 103 ODI matches as the captain of the Indian team. His 14 Test Match wins as captain, was a record until it was bettered by Sourav Ganguly.

Match fixing scandal

Towards the end of his career Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing [3]; South African captain Hansie Cronje in his confession for match-fixing had indicated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to the bookies. This led the BCCI to ban him from the game of cricket 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, he claimed that he was being targeted because he was from a minority community. However, this statement backfired badly and invited severe criticism from all parts of the country and even from prominent minority community organisations in India. Ultimately, Azharuddin had to apologise publicly and retract his statements.
The ban cost him a chance of joining the 100 Test club, in the end finishing stranded on 99 Test matches.

Life after cricket

Since 2004 Azhar has run a Physical Education Centre in Hyderabad. He is married to Sangeeta Bijlani, a Bollywood actress after divorcing his previous wife.


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