Sunday, March 30, 2008

Mohammad Azharuddin


Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963, 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.


Competition

Test

ODI

Matches

99

334

Runs scored

6,215

9,378

Batting average

45.03

36.92

100s/50s

22/21

7/58

Top score

199

153*

Balls bowled

13

552

Wickets

0

12

Bowling average

39.91

5 wickets in innings

0

10 wickets in match

n/a

Best bowling

0/4

3/19

Catches/stumpings

105/–

156/–


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.

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