Mohammed Azharuddeen, the young wicket-keeper batsman from Kerala, was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore at his base price of Rs. 20 lakh in the February 2021 player auction. Though he didn’t get a single game to play last season, the 27-year-old, whose name will once again be called at the auction table this time, is hopeful of getting an IPL contract.
Named after India’s finest batsman Mohammed Azharuddin who was India’s former skipper and veteran of 99 Tests and 334 ODIs till match-fixing controversy saw him banned for life, Kerala’s opening batsman Mohammed Azharuddeen managed to lit up the 2021 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Mohammed Azharuddeen Hopeful Of Being Picked In IPL 2022 Auction
Thirteen Kerala players will be up for grabs. S Sreesanth, Sachin Baby, Vishnu Vinod, S Midhun, M D Nidheesh, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Rohan S Kunnummal, Sijomon Joseph, Basil Thampi, Shoun Roger, KM Asif, and outstation professionals Robin Uthappa and Jalaj Saxena made it to the final list. Star Kerala batter Sanju Samson was retained as captain by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for a whopping Rs 14 crore.
“Practice is on in full swing. I have worked a lot on my batting and technique. I am hopeful that I will be picked at the auction and will again get a chance to share the dressing room with seniors and star players from across the world. I know how good I am in T20s. I am staying positive about the auction,” Mohammed Azharuddeen said in an exclusive interview.
While the first step towards fulfilling his family’s dream was taken when he was chosen to represent Kerala in 2015, he shot into the national limelight recently with his 37-ball 100 in the domestic T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Mumbai. The wicket-keeper batsman played 22 first-class matches, 36 List A games and 31 T20 games since 2015. He has a solitary first-class ton besides the talked about a ton in T20.
Mohammed Azharudeen Want To Play For RCB Again And Admitted Sharing Dressing Room With Virat Kohli And AB de Villiers Was A Great Accomplishment
At RCB, Mohammed Azharudeen, who is also known as ‘junior Azhar’ among his friends and teammates, got the chance to pick the brains of star players like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Glenn Maxwell.
“I am a big fan of Virat bhai and want to play for RCB again. There was a luck factor involved and it was an honour to be with Virat bhai, ABD, Maxwell, and all the other RCB players. This time there are two new teams also and I am hopeful that I will be picked by someone. My thoughts are open and whichever team picks me, I am going to give my hundred percent for that team,” Mohammed Azharuddeen said.
“You will see a different Azhar in this year’s IPL. I have changed a lot of things in my batting and technique. I gained a lot of confidence from last season. Sharing the dressing room with Virat bhai and ABD was a big thing. I got to learn a lot from Virat bhai. He gave me a lot of batting tips,” Mohammed Azharuddeen added.
“Whenever these three guys (Virat, de Villiers and Maxwell) would hit the practice session, I would stand in a corner and observe their game. The way they connect their bats with the ball, with a lot of confidence, is amazing. The energy and confidence towards the game Virat bhai or ABD showed is just of another level.”
“You can learn a lot by just observing them. I spoke with Virat bhai a couple of times personally. I asked him a lot of things about batting and he was happy to help me. He said ‘Dil se khelo’,” the Kerala batsman signed off.
With Rs. 57 crore in their purse RCB has the opportunity to start afresh and the early signs are that they’re on the right track, having identified a solid core by retaining Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammad Siraj before IPL 2022 mega auction.