Australia top-order
batsman Steve Smith has broken silence on India captain Virat Kohli's gesture
during the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales last year. During the
India-Australia World Cup clash, the 'Men in Blue' supporters tried to rile up
Smith by mentioning the sandpaper scandal. However, the India captain egged the
crowd on to support and not boo Smith soon after his return to international
cricket from a one-year suspension for ball-tampering. Smith finally spoke on the incident and said
it was a nice gesture from the Indian skipper, which recently won Kohli
International Cricket Council's (ICC) 'Spirit of Cricket Award'. Steve Smith is
back after International ban and is scoring runs in buckets.
In Nov 1984, England toured India and played
Indian Under 25 lead by Ravi Shastri in
the tour opener at Ahmedabad. Krish
Srikkanth made a flamboyant 92; the team
lead by David Gower lost to the Juniors by an innings and 59 runs. In the only innings that he got, a classy
left hander from Chennai – Rangachari Madhavan who was hardly 24 remained unbeaten on 103 – though he did not
bowl in that match, he was considered a good left arm orthodox spinner. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan sprang to prominence
and made a name against the visitors. Offie Gopal Sharma too bowled so well. There was a berth in the middle order and this
century did not earn him that. That was
to be taken by Mohammed Azharuddin who
also scored a century, got selected and went on to score 3 consecutive centuries
in debut is all history. Madhavan, whom
I have heard to be a Chartered Accountant never could break the ranks
thereafter, played in 39 first class matches and went for greener professional
pastures, which denied him further cricketing opportunities.
Mohammad Azharuddin
a lean fit athletic cricketer burst on to the international cricketing arena
like a thunderbolt, scoring three back to back Test centuries in his first
three Tests in the year 1985. Next year down under his stock rose more with the
classy innings he played in WCC.
Becoming a great fielder and a backfoot batsman, he rose, becoming the
Captain of India, leading the Nation in 3
World Cups.
Years later, he was
to fall to ignominy. Azhar's
international career nosedived after he was reported involved in match-fixing
and was banned by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The ban was
eventually lifted by Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2012 as no clear evidence was
found against the former captain. During CBI investigation, Azharuddin
reportedly confessed that he had fixed three ODIs - the first against South
Africa at Rajkot in 1996, then Pepsi Cup matches in Sri Lanka in 1997 and
Pakistan in 1999. But then in an interview he denied being involved in any such
activity. After investigation BCCI imposed a Life ban of him on Dec 5, 2000 but
on Nov 8, 2012 The Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the life ban on Azharuddin,
terming it as 'unsustainable' as there was no concrete proof.
He dangled in
politics but not successful and now in news for wrong reasons. Media reports suggest that a case has been
registered against former Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and two others
for allegedly duping a travel agent off nearly Rs 21 lakh. Azharuddin, however,
dismissed the allegation as "baseless", and said he will file a
defamation case worth Rs 100 crore against the complainant.
As per the FIR,
Shahab, owner of Danish Tours and Travels agency in Maharashtra's Aurangabad
city, booked various international flight tickets worth Rs 20.96 lakh for
Azharuddin and some others in November last year but was not paid. Shahab allegedly
made the bookings on the request of the former India captain's personal
assistant Mujib Khan and was repeatedly promised payment online. In his complaint, Shahab said when he asked for the
payment, Khan's associate Sudesh Awakkal sent an e-mail saying he has
transferred Rs 10.6 lakh to him, but it was not received, the official said. In
November, he was also sent a picture on WhatsApp of a cheque issued to him, but
the complainant alleged that he did not receive any of the cheques, the police
said.
Shahab on Wednesday
lodged a complaint at City Chowk police station against Azharuddin, Khan and
Awakkal under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach
of trust) and 34 (common intention). Denying the allegations, Azharuddin in a video
posted on Twitter said, "There is no truth in this complaint and is made
just to be in limelight. The allegations made in the complaint are baseless. I
will seek legal advice and file defamation case worth Rs 100 crore against the
complainant."
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
23.1.2020.
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