Mohammad Azharuddin

As a cricketer, he was known for a graceful and fluid batting style - John Woodcock, a noted 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 Epsom Derby." He also won praise elsewhere, with umpire Venkataraghavan stating that "Azharuddin had the best wrists in the game" .
Mohammad Azharuddin is a former cricketer and an Indian politician. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, winning the Arjuna Award in 1986. A member of the Indian National Congress, Azharuddin was an M.P from the Moradabad of Uttar Pradesh.Azharuddin was implicated in a match-fixing scandal in 2000, and banned for life, but on 8 November 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the ban, describing it as "unsustainable".Azhar, as he is popularly known, grew up in Hyderabad and attended All Saints High School, Hyderabad in Hyderabad, of which fellow cricketers Venkatapathy Raju and Noel David are also alumni. While playing cricket, he graduated from Nizam College, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Azharuddin was first married to Naureen, with whom he had two sons, Asad and Ayaz, and whom he divorced after 9 years of marriage. He then married model-actor Sangeeta Bijlani in 1996.On 16 September 2011, his son Ayazuddin, aged 19, died following a road accident.

International career

Azhar scored a final total of 22 centuries in test cricket, at an average of 45, and 7 in ODIs, at an average of 37. To date, he is the only cricketer with the distinction of scoring a century in each of his first three tests. As a fielder, he took 156 catches in ODI cricket - a world record until surpassed by Mahela Jayawardene. He has also held world records for maximum ODI runs and fastest ODI hundred, both subsequently broken by other players, and scored centuries in his first and last Tests.His highest test score is 199, gained against Sri Lanka, and in 1991 he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year. Azharuddin was captain of the Indian team for most of the 1990s. Statistically he is one of India's most successful captains, winning 90 ODIs, which was broken by M.S. Dhoni on 2nd September againt England overtaking him as the most successful Indian ODI captain with 91 victories . His 14 test match wins as captain was a record until it was bettered by then Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly with 21 test match wins.

Match fixing scandal

Towards the end of his career Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing; South African captain Hansie Cronje, in his confession to match-fixing, had indicated that Azharuddin was the one to introduce him to the bookies. India's premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, conducted an investigation and published a report. Azhar admitted to fixing three ODI matches, this led both the ICC and the BCCI to ban him for life in 2000. The BCCI lifted the ban on Azharuddin in 2006, even honouring him along with other Indian Test captains in a ceremony in Mumbai during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. The ICC, however, has stated that it alone has the right to revoke the ban, despite playing no role in handing out the original ban.In one of his interviews, Azhar later claimed that he was being targeted because he was from a minority community.

Political career

Azhruddin formally joined the Indian National Congress party on 19 February 2009. He contested the Indian general election, 2009 from Moradabad in western Uttar Pradesh. Prior to election, he announced his intention to construct a university and a stadium in Moradabad, as well as improve the city's electricity problem, but did not deliver. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he lost against BJP candidate Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria.