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Mohammad Azharuddin
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| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 16 May 2009 – 16 May 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Shafiqur Rahman Barq | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Moradabad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27th President of Hyderabad Cricket Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 September 2019 – 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Gaddam Vivek Venkatswamy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Working President of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 2 June 2014 |
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| Personal details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 February 1963 Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
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| Political party | Indian National Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Children | Mohammad Asaduddin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nicknames | Azhar, Azzu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is a famous Indian politician and a former cricketer. He was also the captain of the Indian national cricket team. He was a right-handed middle-order batsman and sometimes bowled medium-fast. He played 99 Test matches and 334 One Day Internationals for India.
As a captain, he led the team to win the 1990-91 and 1995 Asia Cup tournaments. His team also reached the semi-finals of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Many considered him one of the best ODI batsmen of his time. He captained India in three Cricket World Cups, which is more than any other Indian captain in the 1990s. He was also part of the Indian team that won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.
His cricket career ended in 2000 when he was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. This was due to his connection to a match-fixing situation. However, in 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court removed the ban after he appealed. In September 2019, he became the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
In 2009, Azharuddin joined the Indian National Congress political party. He was elected as a member of parliament for Moradabad. In 2018, he was appointed as the Working President of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.
Contents
Early Life and Cricket Beginnings
Mohammad Azharuddin was born on 8 February 1963 in Hyderabad. His parents were Mohammad Azizuddin and Yousuf Sultana. He went to All Saints High School and later studied at Nizam College, Osmania University. He earned a degree in Commerce.
Azharuddin shared that his uncle, Mir Zainulabiddin, inspired him to play cricket. His uncle was the captain of the Osmania University team. A teacher at All Saints High School, Brother K. M. Joseph, also helped him develop his love for cricket around 1973.
By 1977, Azharuddin was playing for his high school team in the Hyderabad cricket league. He then played for the Deccan Blues team. After that, he represented Osmania University in tournaments between universities.
First-Class Cricket Journey
Azharuddin started as a seam bowler. However, he quickly became a strong batsman, batting at number three. He also bowled as a third seamer for Hyderabad Schools. He played against the visiting English Schools team in the South Zone Schools competition.
He made his first-class debut at 18 years old. This was in the Ranji Trophy during the 1981–82 season for Hyderabad. In the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons, Azharuddin scored many runs. He scored 2,648 runs and 2,499 runs in those seasons.
His great performances were noticed when he scored a double-century in the Duleep Trophy in January 1984. He was playing for South Zone. In December of that year, he scored centuries in both innings of a Ranji Trophy match against Andhra. In the same month, he was chosen to play for the Indian Test team. He joined the team against the visiting English side as a replacement player. This was for the Third Test at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.
Cricket Career Highlights
International Debut and Early Success
Azharuddin played his first international match for India on 31 December 1984 against England. He scored 110 runs in his very first turn at bat. He then scored two more centuries in his next two Test matches in the same series. This made him the first player ever to score three centuries in his first three Test matches.
After the Test series, Azharuddin played his first One Day International (ODI) match. This was against England again, on 20 January 1985, in Bangalore. He scored an unbeaten 47 runs. A month later, his unbeaten 93 runs helped his team win against Pakistan. This was during the World Championship of Cricket group stage.
Leading the Indian Team
In 1989, Azharuddin became the captain of the Indian team. He took over from Krishnamachari Srikkanth. He led the Indian team in 47 Test matches and 174 One Day Internationals. Under his captaincy, India won 14 Tests and 90 ODIs. These were records for an Indian captain until Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni later broke them.
During India's tour of England in 1990, Azharuddin scored 121 runs in the first Test at Lord's. Even though India lost the match, a former England cricketer, Vic Marks, called it "the most dazzling Test century" he had ever seen. In the second Test in Manchester, Azharuddin scored his tenth Test century. He made 179 runs and shared a 112-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. He reached his century in just 155 balls. Azharuddin finished the series with 426 runs, averaging 85.20. This was the highest score by an Indian captain in a Test series in England until Virat Kohli broke it in 2018.
Asia Cup Wins and World Cup Appearances
Azharuddin led India to victory in the 1990–91 Asia Cup. They beat Sri Lanka in the final. He scored 54 runs in that final and was named Man of the Match. He then captained India at the 1992 World Cup. His team was knocked out in the group stage, finishing seventh out of nine teams. They won two out of eight matches.
India won the 1995 Asia Cup by beating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the final. Azharuddin was captain and won the Man of the Match award for his runs. He also led the team in the 1996 World Cup, which India co-hosted. India finished third in their group and qualified for the quarter-finals. They beat Pakistan by 39 runs to reach the semi-finals. India lost in the semi-finals to Sri Lanka. The match was stopped early because of crowd issues.
Later Career and Retirement
During South Africa's tour of India in 1996–97, Azharuddin scored a century in just 74 balls. This was in the second Test in Kolkata. He equaled Kapil Dev's record for the fastest Test century by an Indian player. Azharuddin scored another century in the next Test, making an unbeaten 163 runs. This helped India achieve their biggest Test win by runs at that time (280 runs). He was named Man of the Match and Player of the Series. He scored a total of 388 runs in the series, averaging 77.60.
Azharuddin scored seven centuries in ODIs. His highest score was 153 not out against Zimbabwe on 9 April 1998. He scored his last of 22 Test centuries against South Africa in March 2000. This was also his last Test match. He became the first Indian and fifth batsman ever to score a century in both his first and last Test matches. Azharuddin played his final international match in an ODI against Pakistan on 3 June 2000.
Post-Cricket Career
After his cricket career, Azharuddin faced a ban from cricket. However, in 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court removed this ban. In 2019, Azharuddin was elected as the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
Playing Style
Azharuddin was a right-handed batsman who played in the middle order. He also bowled medium-fast sometimes. He was famous for his elegant and smooth batting style. A cricket writer named John Woodcock once said that it was impossible to expect an English player to bat like Azharuddin. He compared it to expecting a greyhound to win a horse race.
Former cricketer and umpire Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan said that "Azharuddin had the best wrists in the game." Mike Atherton and Angus Fraser believed Azharuddin's "genius was second only to Brian Lara among batsmen of their generation."
Cricket Statistics Summary
Azharuddin mainly played as a middle-order batsman. He played 99 Test matches for India and scored 6,215 runs. His average was 45.03. This included 22 centuries and 21 half-centuries. In One Day Internationals (ODIs), he scored 9,378 runs from 334 matches, with an average of 36.92. As a fielder, he took 156 catches.
Political Career
Azharuddin joined the Indian National Congress party on 19 February 2009. He won the 2009 general election from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. This made him a member of parliament.
He ran in the 2014 election from Tonk–Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. However, he lost to Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria from the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2018, he was appointed as the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. He also ran in the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad but lost.
Awards and Recognition
Azharuddin received the Arjuna Award in 1986. This is a high honor for athletes in India. In 1988, he was given the Padma Shri, which is India's fourth-highest civilian award. In 1991, he was named one of Wisden's cricketers of the year.
On 21 September 2023, Azharuddin also received an honorary doctorate degree from Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi.
Personal Life
Azharuddin married Naureen in 1987, and they had two sons, Mohammad Asaduddin and Mohammad Ayazuddin. They divorced in 1996. He then married actress Sangeeta Bijlani in 1996, and they divorced in 2010. His younger son, Ayazuddin, sadly passed away in a bike accident in 2011. His elder son, Asaduddin, is also a cricketer. He married Anam Mirza, the sister of tennis star Sania Mirza, in 2019.
