A year on, Mohammed Azharuddin and family coming to terms with Ayaz's death

September 4, 2012

captain-son

Hyderabad: As the blue Alto stopped near Hazrath Banda Shah graveyard gate in the bustling Riyasat Nagar locality, a strapping bespectacled man in his 40s came out of the car with a bouquet of roses accompanied by a teenager.

Even from a distance, any onlooker would not be able to miss a striking resemblance of the man with former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin and rightly so.

He is Mohammed Fareesuddin, Azhar's younger brother, who has come all the way from Dubai to pay homage to his nephew Ayazuddin -- who lost his life in a tragic bike accident on a fateful day in September last year.

"It's a huge loss for the family. We are yet to overcome from that tragedy but we are trying our best," Farees said as he tried hard to control his emotions standing in front of Ayazuddin's grave.

"Ayaz was very soft-spoken, introvert lad. There was hardly any interaction between us... But I remember people saying he was a talented cricketer, similar to that of his father."

Farees informed that the family will be planning something on Ayaz's first death anniversary, once Azhar, who is now a busy Parliamentarian is back in the city.

Although Ayaz passed away on September 16 last year, according to Arabic calendar, his first death anniversary is next week.

"As per the English calendar it's on September 16 but according to the Arabic calendar the anniversary is sometime next week. Bhai (Azhar) would come during that time," he added.

September 11 is a date that will haunt the family forever as Ayaz had the bike accident on that very day.

"I was here that time. He really battled for life. Despite heavy internal bleeding, he fought on, continuously for six days before breathing his last," Farees said.

"A father can only understand how difficult is it to lose a child. It was really painful for Bhai... But somehow, he is trying to overcome it. He (Azhar) is quite fine now."

The graveyard is more than 100 years' old with all of Azharuddin's ancestors buried at the place.

"Whenever anybody of the family comes (to Hyderabad), they visit and pay a homage here. All our ancestors are buried here," Irfan said.

55-year-old Mohammad Ahmed, janitor of this graveyard remembered how Azhar broke down during the burial.

"I still remember the evening when Ayaz was buried. It was around 7 clock in the evening. Azhar completely broke down. Later, he (Azhar) had come on the third day, the 10th day and on the 40th day. It's been about two months since he last visited.

"He is a busy man. It's their family's graveyard. I've seen many burials of the family. But Ayaz's death was most tragic," Ahmed, who lives inside the compound with his 10-member family, said.

"The entire city including all the ministers turned up to mourn the death last year. The entire place was cordoned off," he recollected.

The 1000cc Hayabusa was a gift from Azhar to Ayaz on Eid as the teenager was passionate about mean machine.

His passion turned fatal and changed the lives of everyone around him. May be the reason why Azhar didn't pay a visit to graveyard during this year's Eid. Time flies but for some life refuses to move on.

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News Network
May 2,2020

Melbourne, May 2: After becoming the number one side in Test cricket, Australia's head coach Justin Langer has said that his team has won back the respect of the country.

Australia dethroned India from the top spot in Tests and now the Men in Blue are in the third place.

Langer came in as the coach of Australia after the 2018 ball-tampering scandal and it took him some time to get the side back to winning ways.

Ever since the return of David Warner and Steve Smith, Australia went on to become a commendable side and the results reflect that.

"We have got lots of work to do to become the team we want to be. But over the last couple of years, not only have we performed well on the field, we have performed well off it. We have earned some respect back from other teams around the world but also from Australia," Langer said in an official statement.

"When we started on this journey, there had been a lot of talk about Australia wanting to be No. 1 in the world in all three forms of the game.

We took a different approach. Not once did we talk about being No. 1 ranked in the world. We wanted to be No.1 in our values and process. That is what I am most proud of," he added.

In the latest ICC rankings update, that rates all matches played since May 2019 at 100 per cent and those of the previous two years at 50 per cent, Australia (116) have taken over from India as the top-ranked side in the ICC men's Test team rankings with New Zealand (115) remaining in second place.

India is now third with 114 points. With only two points separating them, this is the second closest the top three teams have been since the Test rankings were launched in 2003.

The closest for the top three teams were in January 2016, when India had led Australia and South Africa by a single point.

Australia has also moved to the top spot in the T20I rankings for the first time in the format.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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