The ending of a story always has a tendency to dictate how the entire tale is remembered. Our own MS Dhoni once said, “Till the full-stop doesn’t come, the sentence is not complete.” But if you read the story of another of India’s prolific captains, the full stop came at a most inopportune point. And sadly he has been judged for it ever since, always had to face the utter grievance of the cricket lovers. The scandal has actually overshadowed his several personal accolades and laurels he brought to his country.
The curious case of Mohammad Azharuddin, one of India’s greatest captains and a singular talent on the field, is marred by allegations of match fixing which resulted in a lifelong ban handed down from the BCCI.
Let’s just leave aside the question of whether the ban was justified or not, we can always try an objective attempt to separate the man on the field from the career-ending incident. If you see it in such an unbiased light, the career of Mohammad Azharuddin quickly jumps out in contrast to the tarnished memory of how it finished.
Let us take a look at 5 justified reasons why Mohammad Azharuddin should be remembered for more than match fixing.