Mohammad Azharuddin biography
Mohammad Azharuddin was born on 8 February 1963 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, also known as Azhar, is an Indian politician and former cricketer. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until his involvement in a match-fixing scandal forced him into retirement. A member of the Indian National Congress, Azharuddin won election from the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.

Azhar, as he is popularly known, grew up in Hyderabad and attended a catholic convent boys school All Saints High School in Hyderabad. Indian cricketers such as Venkatapathy Raju and Noel David have also attended the same school.

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!” Former Indian captain and International umpire Venkataraghavan said that “Azharuddin had the best wrists in the game, but Tendulkar isn’t too far behind” while praising Sachin Tendulkar.

Azharuddin is allegedly seeing acclaimed Indian badminton player, Jwala Gutta, while still being married to former Miss India turned actress Sangeeta Bijlani. This was his second marriage, after he divorced his first wife Naureen, with whom he had two sons, Asad and Ayaz.

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 has 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 held world records for maximum ODI runs and fastest ODI hundred. He also has probably unique record of scoring centuries in his first and last Test.

During India’s 1990 Test series in England, he 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 saved follow on but lost the match and the series.

He was given out LBW for 199 in a Test match against Sri Lanka and it was his highest Test score.

Eden Gardens, Kolkata proved to be happy hunting ground for Azhar where he scored 5 centuries in 7 Tests at a whooping 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 with his athletic fielding and leadership.

Azhar eventually stranded one short of 100 Tests milestone following unfortunate events that led to his retirement.

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

Mohammad Azharuddin