Azhar gets Relief, Andhra HC sets Aside Life Ban

NEW DELHI: Twelve years after BCCI banned Mohammad Azharduddin from playing cricket for life, Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the decision of the cricket body.

A Bench of Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohanta and Mr Justice Krishna Mohan Reddy gave relief to former Indian skipper-turned-politician Mohammad Azharuddin, allowing his appeal challenging the order of a local court, which had upheld the decision of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The Bench set aside the ban agreeing with Mohammad Azharuddin's counsel K Ramakant Reddy's argument that there was no evidence to suggest former cricketer had succumbed to any pressure while playing.

The court also observed that the BCCI had proceeded against 49-year-old Mohammad Azharuddin unilaterally and said the order of the trial court was unsustainable. The ban was imposed in 2000 by BCCI as per the suggestion of a three-member committee comprising its erstwhile president AC Muthaiah and two vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and KM Ram Prasad in the wake of allegations of match-fixing against Mohammad Azharuddin.

In a career spanning about 15 years, Mohammad Azharuddin, known for his stylish batting, had played 334 ODIs and 99 test matches. He later made a foray into politics and won the Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh on a Congress ticket.

Mohammad Azharuddin sought to strike a conciliatory note saying that he would not want to blame anybody for the pain he suffered in the past 12 years. "It was a long drawn out legal case and it was painful. 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,” Mohammad Azharuddin said at a hastily-called Press conference at his residence here.

Asked if he would take any legal action against BCCI, the former captain said: “I am not going to take any legal action against any authority and I don't want to blame anybody for this. It is about destiny and whatever had to happen has happened. I don't have any complaint.”