Congress MPs want Azhar ban lifted
New Delhi, Nov. 21: The BCCI is under pressure from the Congress to revoke the life ban on former skipper Mohd Azharuddin for his alleged involvement in the 2000 match-fixing scandal.
Azharuddin, who is now a Congress MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, was banned for life after the BCCI found him guilty of being involved in the scandal that rocked Indian cricket.
But Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh argue that the ban on the former captain should be lifted now because several other players, who faced similar charges, have been allowed back into the game.
In fact, some of these MPs, including Jitin Prasad, BCCI's Finance Committee chairman Rajiv Shukla, who is also a Congress spokesman, and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar met ICC vice-President and former BCCI President Sharad Pawar to put forth their demand.
"I spoke to BCCI president Shashank Manohar and he said that if Azhar himself shows interest in wanting the ban lifted then it can be moved forward to the annual general meeting and the the AGM will decide," Shukla said.
"The ban on Azharuddin can be lifted only if the BCCI AGM deems it fit," he added.
Azaharuddin, an elegant right-hand batsman from Hyderabad, played 99 Tests and scored 6215 runs at an average of 45. He played a whopping 334 one-dayers, accumulating 9378 runs at an average of 36.92.
Latest Comments
Congress is not setting the right direction for GenNext! The leaders who are vouching for Azhar's comeback are the same "Chor chor mousare bhai" or "two sides of the same coin".
Actually, this is one of the reasons why the younger, wiser or smarter ones in India are shying away from entering politics for a career. If BCCI or for that matter any organisation goes back on their decisions, then why give a verdict at all? Why do we need such costly committes that are formed to probe into such nefarious crimes? And, we GenNext feel or are led to feel that India will be a superpower one day! What a comedy!
Azhar is as innocent as Kapil Dev, Prabhakar, Nayan Mongia, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar. All know to play for personal records and then, if time permits, for the country.
Salute the Master Fielder and hope he does not give up. Sir, looking forward to see you flying between the wickets again.
Azhar is a genius that no one and cannot be surpassed in the craftsmanship of batting. He is a good human being. He will definitely benifit from lifting the ban. I appeal to Sharad Pawar to lift the ban.
It is a really a good move by the Congress to lift the ban on Mohamed Azharuddin. Although he cannot play, he can at least erase a blot on his career. He is a gem of a person and very innocent, I know him personally. India has lost a great player by banning him. If he would have been in cricket he would have brought laurels to India. He is very unlucky to have been banned. Thanks Congress.
The ban should not be lifted on Azharuddin as he cheated the whole country. Azhar should remember this for the rest of his life as a black spot. Also this will be a good lesson for the coming generations.
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