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.
–Courtesy:Timesofindia
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Destiny-smiles-again-on-Mohammad-Azharuddin/articleshow/17151769.cms