By Amir Husain (9th November, 2012)

Mohammed Azharuddin had it all - the presence, the silken touch - the stature that a nation expects from their captain.

In a generation of demi-Gods that a nation could look upto, Azhar was right up there with the likes of SRT,Ganguly and Dravid.

But then it happened. We discovered that the man who could have carved his name in the annals of history alongside other Muslims captain of India - the late Mansoor Khan of Pataudi - had clay feet.

After allegations of match fixing against Azhar, in 2000 a BCCI committee comprising of President A C Muthaiah and two vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and K M Ram Prasad, decided to impose a life time ban.

A career spanning 99 Test matches and 344 ODIs thus came to an abrupt end. Whether the reasons for the ban were well founded is moot - the fact is that he was banned.

All that changed a few days ago when Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI atleast allowing him to clear his name.

Speaking to the media, Azhar who is now a MP for Moradabad was philosophical about the events of the past and chose to take a non confrontational route towards the BCCI


“I am not going to take any legal action against any authority and I don't want to blame anybody for this also. It is about destiny and whatever had to happen has happened. I don't have any complaint," Azhar said.

Alluding to the long drawn out battle to clear his name, he furher added that "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"

With this major milestone achieved in his life, Azhar shifted the focus towards the impending resumption of India Pakistan cricketing ties which he feels has more to with shifts in political trends rather than based on any other concrete reasons.

"In 2004, our relationships had become warmer due to regular cricket between both countries. We can't move forward if we will see it politically," added Azharuddin."

With India and Pakistan resuming "hostilities"on the field of cricket after a period of 5 years, Azhar expressed his hope that this would be first of many such encounters which could help see some exciting cricket from both sides stating that "It's a welcome development and we should encourage cricket ties between the two countries."

With the cricketing days of Azhar long past, fans from both sides will be hoping for some top notch cricket from the current generation of players as the 2 nations renew their rivalry in December-January when Pakistan arrive to play 3 ODIs and 2 T20 games.