Mohammad Azharuddin

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Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh) is a former captain of the Indian cricket team.

He shot into fame in 1984 when he hit three consecutive centuries in his first three Test matches, including the debut innings.

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Career

Azhar, as he was popularly known, was an elegant batsman and captain of the Indian team for most of the 1990s. He is the best captain india has ever had, in terms of total number of wins (tests and one dayers). He has won 103 matches for India, which is still unprecedented. In Test cricket, his 14 Test wins as captain, was the best at the time, until he was overtaken by Saurav Ganguly. There have been few things more beautiful on a cricket field than the sight of watching Azharuddin bat in full flow. In his prime he had a graceful, fluid batting style, comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower. He was a wristy player and the flick was his most characteristic shot. He was at his best against spin bowling.

The grace and fluidity of his wrists once made John Woodcock, one of cricket's finest writers, say, "It's no use asking an Englishman bat like Mohammad Azharuddin. For, it would be like expecting a greyhound to win the London Derby!" (Source:http://autofeed.msn.co.in/pandorav3/output/Cricket/382f8b7b-037b-400d-ac11-77c8c4ef3dc2.aspx )

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He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991, and was for long an inspirational figure in the Indian team with his athletic fielding and leadership. However, towards the end of his career Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing; South African captain Hansie Cronje in his confession for match-fixing had indicated Azharuddin also being involved. This lead the ICC to ban him from the game of cricket for life in 1999 - a ban which he is now contesting. Many of his fans still long to see him appear for his 100th test but others feel being left out on 99 is a fitting (dis)honour to a man who brought so much to Indian cricket and perhaps took it all away. To date he is the only batsman who has hit centuries in each of his first three test matches.

He divorced his wife and married Sangeeta Bijlani, a Bollywood actress, earning criticism from many Muslims in the process.

Azharuddin is a fitness freak, today he runs a gym named Est in his hometown, Hyderabad. He is also the personal trainer of tennis star Sania Mirza.

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