Hyderabad, Oct 31 (NationPress) With his recent swearing-in as a Cabinet minister in Telangana, former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin has embarked on a new chapter in his political journey.

At the age of 62, he has traversed an extraordinary path since his remarkable debut in 1984-85, where he scored three consecutive centuries against England, making him the first and only player to achieve this feat in his initial three tests.

Born in Hyderabad on February 8, 1963, Azharuddin's passion for cricket ignited during his school days at All Saints. He often credits his uncle, Mir Zainulabideen, for introducing him to this sport that has significantly influenced his life.

Known as ‘Ajju Bhai’ on the cricket field, he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Nizam College.

His career peaked when he was appointed captain of the Indian team in 1989, where he established himself as one of the most successful leaders in cricket history.

However, his illustrious career faced a sudden halt in 2000 due to a lifetime ban related to match-fixing allegations.

After years of legal battles, the Andhra Pradesh High Court annulled the ban in 2012, but by then, Azhar was too old to return to professional cricket.

Throughout his career, the wristy batsman played 99 tests, accumulating 6,215 runs, including 22 centuries, and participated in 334 one-day matches, scoring 9,378 runs.

Azhar entered politics in 2009 by joining the Congress party and secured a Lok Sabha seat from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. However, he faced defeat in the 2014 elections from Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur constituency.

In 2018, he became the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and campaigned vigorously during the Assembly elections.

His attempt to venture into cricket administration in 2019 was less than successful, as he was elected president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), where he encountered internal strife and corruption allegations.

The Supreme Court intervened in 2023, appointing a single-member committee to oversee the HCA, which subsequently barred Azhar from participating in upcoming elections.

Following complaints from HCA officials, several criminal cases were filed against him for alleged fund misappropriation, though Azhar has dismissed these claims as false and driven by ulterior motives.

In 2023, he contested the Jubilee Hills Assembly seat but lost his debut electoral battle to Maganti Gopinath of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) by over 16,000 votes.

Despite this setback, he was nominated by Congress as a Member of the Telangana Legislative Council and appointed as a minister just before the bypoll in Jubilee Hills.

He is the first Muslim representative in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's Cabinet, and his inclusion came shortly before the by-election.

On a personal note, Azhar's life has been marked by controversies, including his divorce from his first wife, Naureen, in 1996, followed by his marriage to model-turned-actress Sangeeta Bijlani, with whom he reportedly separated in 2010.

From his first marriage, he has two sons; his younger son, Ayazuddin, tragically died in a bike accident in 2011, while his elder son, Asaduddin, a domestic cricketer, is now the general secretary of Telangana Congress and is married to Anam Mirza, the younger sister of tennis champion Sania Mirza.