Mohammad Azharuddin is looked upon as a supreme batting artist. He had sinewy wrists which made the bat appear like a magician’s wand. His leg side play made one remember of Greg Chappell and Zaheer Abbas. Azharuddin was regarded as a Michelangelo in the midst of housepainters.
In his later years, he refined his off side strokeplay and played one of the best innings in the modern era. In 1990 at Lord’s, he scored 121 runs and this was an exemplary knock. When he debuted in 1984-85 against England, he hit 3 centuries in his first 3 Test matches. This feat has not been matched. All throughout his career, his fielding was peerless, whether he was pouching catches in the slip or prowling the covers. He enjoyed tremendous success as a captain especially on home pitches.
Towards the end of his career, there were allegations of match fixing against him and these put a complete end to his career. In 2009, he entered politics in India.
Career Highlights
Mohammad Azharuddin played in 334 ODIs and smashed 9378 runs in these with a batting strike rate of 74.02 and batting average of 36.92. His highest score was 153 not out. He bashed 7 centuries and 58 half centuries and took 156 catches. 12 batsmen were dismissed in the 552 balls he bowled while conceding 479 runs. His economy rate was 5.20 and bowling average was 39.91.
