Mohammad Azharuddin not banned anymore
A court in India on Thursday overturned the life ban imposed on former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin by country’s cricket governing body.
The 49-year-old, hailed as India’s most successful captain, had been banned from playing all forms of cricket in 2000 following allegations of match fixing.
Andhra Pradesh High Court termed ban on the Azharuddin “illegal and unsustainable,” saying no evidences of corruption has been found against the former skipper.
Azharuddin had challenge the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in the Hyderabad civil court, which upheld the ban. He then moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the lower court’s order. His counsels argued that the board had imposed the ban without any evidence.
The 49-year-old, who is now a Congress party MP from Moradabad in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said he would not want to blame anybody for the pain he was suffering from the past 12 years.
“It was a long drawn out legal case and it was painful. We fought in the court for 11 years. There were lots of adjournments, changes in the case. But finally the verdict has come and I am happy that the ban has been lifted by the court,” Mohammad Azharuddin said after the verdict.
Azharuddin also refused to take legal action against the Indian cricket board.
“I am not going to take any legal action against any authority and I don’t want to blame anybody for this also. It is about destiny and whatever had to happen has happened. I don’t have any complaint.”
Mohammad Azharuddin, who scored 6,215 runs for India in 99 Tests and 9,378 runs in 334 ODIs, said he has no plans to return to field but he want to “something” for the sport.
“I have no desire to play cricket again. I’ve not played cricket for a long time, so playing is no longer on the cards,” said Azharuddin. “But I’m interested in doing something in cricket. I want to help young cricketers with my experience.”
“I was destined to play 99 Tests and I don’t think I will add to this.”
Azharuddin thanked all those who had backed him saying he always trusted the Indian judiciary.
“I had complete trust in the Indian judiciary that they will listen to my case. I was very patient and patience always pays off,” he said.
Having made his international debut in 1984, Azharuddin came into spotlight with three record-breaking hundreds the first three Tests of his career against England.
Mohammad Azharuddin was one of only five players banned for life after a string of investigations into match-fixing conducted between 2000-2001. The other players handed life bans were Saleem Malik and Ata-ur-Rehman (Pakistan), Ajay Sharma (India) and the late Hansie Cronje (South Africa).
Meanwhile, responding on Andhra Pradesh court’s verdict, the BCCI spokesperson Rajiv Shukla said the board would “study and analyze” the judgment comprehensively, before taking a decision on whether the ban would be rescinded.
