Mohammed Azharuddin... The mere mention of the name swings memories of a stylish right handed batsmen from Hyderabad who with his wonderful wrist flicks transformed a cricket match into a poetic creation with aesthetic nuances of a masterpiece.
Azharuddin donned a new avatar on 19th February 2009, as he formally joined Indian National Congress and won the general election from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh to become a member of Parliament. It is news that the former Indian Captain has been offered the post of a coach for the Jammu & Kashmir cricket team.
Azhar, as he is popularly known, took the world cricket by a storm with swashbuckling test centuries on debut against England in 1984 as he went on to score three centuries in the first innings of first three consecutive test matches, a feat yet to be paralleled. The 1991 "Wisden Cricketer of the Year" award winner also became the first man in the history of world cricket to play 300 ODI's.
Farooq Abdullah, president of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Azharuddin was offered the position that has been vacant since Bishan Singh Bedi's exit after the end of last season. "We still haven't reached the final decision," Abdullah said.
"He has been offered the post of coach by JKCA but he hasn't decided whether to take it or not. They want to avail of whatever services he could render. He is seriously considering it since he is desperate to give back to the game that has been so close to his heart." The former batsman is yet to take a decision. Mujeeb Khan, Azharuddin's secretary said.
But, this will be no walk in the park for the former Indian Captain. When the BCCI banned Azharuddin for life in 2000, he was barred from participating in any cricketing activity. Though the ban was deemed illegal by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in November 2012, a BCCI official said Azharuddin cannot return to cricket in any role without the board's permission since the ruling has been challenged.
"The high court verdict was based on a technicality. Nowhere did the court say he is not guilty of indulging in fixing. Since the proceedings to challenge the verdict have been initiated, as far as BCCI is concerned, any association that wants to appoint him in any capacity cannot do so without the board's consent" the board official said.
Ajay Sharma was also banned for life and hasn't been active in cricket since then. Ajay Jadeja , whose five year ban was overturned by the BCCI, returned to domestic cricket for a couple of seasons before becoming a cricket expert on television. Manoj Prabhakar, also banned for five years, returned as the bowling coach of Delhi after serving his ban.
Whether Azhar gets a clean chit from BCCI remains to be seen.
Check back for an update for more details as they surface.
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