Destiny smiles again on Mohammad Azharuddin

November 9, 2012

azharuddin

Hyderabad/New Delhi, November 9: Former Indian cricket team skipper Mohammad Azharuddin had labelled himself Destiny's Child when he stormed into the limelight stroking three hundreds in his first three Tests against England in 1985.

A god-fearing man and a devout Muslim, the wristy batsman repeated those words when he was made the skipper in 1990.

Perhaps, it was destiny that the man who went on to lead India to a record 14 Test wins and was the apple of the eye of most cricket fans before Sachin Tendulkar stole his thunder, allegedly took a 'bite' of the forbidden fruit and fell from the eyes of those very fans who had put him on a pedestal.

On Thursday, 12 years after he was banned by the BCCI, for match-fixing and involvement with bookies, destiny chose to smile on him again.

The life ban imposed on the cricketer-turned politician in December 2000, was set aside by the AP High Court. A division bench comprising Justices Asuthosh Mohunta and G Krishna Mohan Reddy delivered the judgement, allowing the appeal filed by Azharuddin against BCCI's ban as also a civil court's approval of the ban order.

The bench also set aside the ban preventing Azharuddin from playing any cricket match conducted or authorised by the ICC and BCCI. It further set aside the ban on a benefit match for the player.

Azharuddin was prevented from not only playing a match, but wasn't even allowed to enter any venue that was staging a match under the aegis of the ICC.

The two judges were unanimous in their opinion that the BCCI went about condemning the cricketer without even giving him the opportunity to be heard. The board also failed to substantiate its claims of wrongdoing by Azharuddin with any credible evidence, the bench said.

The match-fixing scandal came to light in April 2000, after the then South Africa captain Hansie Cronje claimed in his confession that Azharuddin had introduced him to bookies.

The removal of the ban though, may not mean much to Azharuddin as far as his playing career is concerned. At 49, and especially when he has made a successful switch from cricket to politics, the game is not a priority any more.

But getting his name cleared of the match-fixing allegations is a huge victory indeed. The court order will now allow him to plan his long overdue benefit match and also claim what is due to him from the cricket board.

A RELIEVED MAN

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, the Congress MP from Moradabad said he was a relieved man.

"I fought this battle for so long with patience. It has been a tough and painful battle and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me during this difficult period," Azhar told reporters at a press conference at his residence.

Azhar said he was happy that his name is no more mired in controversy.

"My name is cleared and I don't want to dwell upon what happened in the past. If people want to keep talking about the past I can't help them. I am happy, I have not done anything wrong and I do not have any regrets. My conscience is clear."

Reaffirming his faith in destiny, Azhar, when asked whether he regretted playing 99 Tests and not 100, said, "Maybe I was destined to play 99 Test matches and that's what the Almighty wanted. I would not like to dwell on the past and move on. I am an MP and would like to focus on the development of my constituency Moradabad."

'WON'T TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ANY AUTHORITY'

Mumbai/New Delhi: The agony of fighting a protracted legal battle to get the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI removed, finally ended for Mohammad Azharuddin on Thursday.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed the ban slapped on the former India skipper for his alleged involvement in match-fixing and called it "illegal".

Azhar, who is now a Lok Sabha MP from Moradabad, has always maintained that the ban was unfair and the BCCI's decision was unilateral. However, the former Hyderabadi batsman sought to strike a conciliatory note with the BCCI, saying that he would not want to blame anybody for the pain he suffered in the past 12 years.

"It was a long-drawn out legal case and it was painful. We fought in the court for 11 years. There were lots of adjournments, changes in the case. But finally the verdict has come and I am happy that the ban has been lifted by the court," Azhar said on Thursday.

Asked if he would take any legal action against the BCCI, he said: "I am not going to take any legal action against any authority and I don't want to blame anybody for this also."

Technically, the HC verdict now makes Azhar eligible for the BCCI pension and payout that the board doles out to former cricketers.

The BCCI didn't jump to any conclusion on Thursday.

Reacting to the HC verdict, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla told TOI: "The BCCI will take the final call only after our legal team studies the order."

Board CAO Ratnakar Shetty, echoed the views of Shukla.

THEY WERE BANNED TOO

Manoj Prabhakar: Was banned for five years for match-fixing after he tried to implicate Kapil Dev. Became the bowling coach for Delhi after that. Is a TV expert.

Ajay Jadeja: Was banned for five years in 2000 for match-fixing . But in January 2003, the Delhi HC overturned the ban for want of proof. Went on to captain Delhi and Rajasthan. Became a TV expert.

Ajay Sharma: Was banned for life by the BCCI in 2000 for match-fixing . The ban still stands.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Veteran cricketer Mithali Raj was on Thursday demoted to Grade B from A in the BCCI central contracts while Radha Yadav and Taniya Bhatia were elevated to the middle bracket.

Mithali not being kept in the Rs 50 lakh category was expected as the 37-year-old retired from T20s in September last year. However, she remains the ODI captain and plans to carry on till the 2021 World Cup.

T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur retained his A category contract alongside Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav.

Radha and Taniya, who both had a Grade C contract worth Rs 10 lakh last year, have now entered Grade B (Rs 30 lakh).

Players getting a central contract for the first time are 15-year-old opener Shafali Verma and Harleen Deol, who like the teenager is an attacking batter.

Shafali has attracted a lot of attention ever since making her India debut last year. She recently made 124 against Australia A in Brisbane. The opener will be expected to deliver in the upcoming T20 World Cup Down Under.

Dropped from the list is Mona Meshram, who was in Grade C last year and hasn't played a single game in recent times.

The latest contracts run from October 2019 to September 2020.

Grade A (Rs 50 lakh): Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav.

Grade B (Rs 30 lakh): Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma.

Grade C (Rs 10 lakh): Veda Krishnamurthy, Punam Raut, Anuja Patil, Mansi Joshi, D Hemlatha, Arundhati Reddy, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Harleen Deol, Priya Punia, Shafali Verma.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Karachi, Jan 10: Former Pakistan batsman and current U-19 head coach Ejaz Ahmed feels that his side can beat defending champions and arch-rivals India in the forthcoming ICC Youth World Cup beginning in South Africa on January 17.

"India has a very good cricket system and it is organized but I know that we have more passion than them when we play against each other and that is how we also beat them in the semi-finals of the recent Asian Emerging Nations Cup," Ejaz said.

Ejaz, who has played 60 Test and 250 ODIs, was head coach of the Pakistan Emerging side which beat India before eventually winning the title in Bangladesh last year.

"Even in the past, we beat India because of our greater passion and this time also I know the passion of our players will prevail over them although they have a very strong outfit," he added.

The 51-year-old Ejaz, however, said at the end of the day it would be all about how a team plays on that particular day.

"It is the same in the World Cup it does not matter which team is number one or defending champions what will matter is how a team plays on a given day. I personally feel our team is well balanced," he said.

Ejaz did not believe that India would get advantage of having played a four-nation tournament with South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe in South Africa before the World Cup.

"Our players have also trained hard in Lahore and we have played around 11 matches. We will also reach South Africa nine days before the World Cup and we have some practice games and I think our preparations are also very good for the tournament," he said.

The former batsman also said the absence of fast bowler Naseem Shah will not impact much on the team's performance. Naseem was withdrawn from the Pakistan U-19 squad after he played for the senior team in three Test matches against Australia and Sri Lanka.

"Look there was no controversy at all. The way we now see things is that you can't expect a MBA to go and take BA exams. That is how we look at Naseem Shah, he has made the grade for Pakistan and now he should be performing for the senior team," said the head coach.

"We have a couple of exciting young talent in the ranks. I expect Rohail and Haider to play for the senior team in two to three year's time, they are that good."

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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