The men who could have made it big – Part-2

Mohammed Azharuddin

The legend who messed up everything…

A startling batsman, a valiant captain. In general, the most advanced of dictionaries would fall short of adjectives to describe the genius of Mohammed Azharuddin, but the two characteristics above just about summarize what he was. The ones who didn’t watch him play, sadly, have failed to witness the most acrobatic wrists ever – yes, wristier than Laxman. No surprises then, that Murali regarded him as one of the best batsmen ever, on par, with the Little Master, and a noted analyst was once quoted as saying -“It’s no use asking an Englishman to bat like Mohammad Azharuddin. For, it would be like expecting a greyhound to win the London Derby!” Such, was the Azhar effect. Once India’s most successful Test Captain and still holding the record in the One-day arena, Azharuddin was as athletic in the field as anyone else of the era and was a real inspiration for the young and the experienced alike. His 62-ball century at Baroda in 1988 sent shock waves down the spine of the Kiwi attack and remained the fastest ODI hundred until first Jayasuriya and then Afridi overtook him. He achieved the unique feat of scoring a century each in his first three Tests and also on his Test debut as well as farewell.

Azharuddin was technically one of the best, if not the best, the country has ever seen. His wrist position, feet movement, head-stillness – anything and everything was just as ideal as you could ask for. Watch the following video and you’ll have no doubt whatsoever why Simon Hughes once remarked “Bowling to Azhar on song is like sending balls into a revolving door”.

He ended his Test Career with 6,216 runs from 99 Tests at an average of just over 45 with the help of 22 hundreds. Towards the fag end of his career, his wonderful numbers (which could have been even more beautiful had he continued with) were overshadowed by the match-fixing scandal and it became the reason for his retirement from the sport as he was handed a life-ban by the BCCI.

Unlike Kambli, he was not someone who retired pre-maturely; given his age, he perhaps could only have carried on for a year or two. But his achievements have been undermined by the fact that the only image of Azhar which most people retain in their minds is that of a match-fixer.

Another sedate end to a legendary career. Another star lost. Another talent, though not wasted, but not celebrated either.

Mohammed Kaif

Mohammad Kaif: A distant memory…

A thinly-built lad, who led India to an U-19 World Cup winning spree; widely considered to be the most athletic fielder of his time and one who probably was left stranded as others around him forged ahead and closed the door for him. Mohammed Kaif, for his prowess at cover, especially safe catching, agility and accurate throws at the wickets, was once the best fielder in Indian team. Kaif at cover and Yuvraj at point formed a deadly fielding duo, pretty much comparable to anyone in the world. His innings of 87* at Lord’s, in the 2002 Natwest Finals remains etched in our memories, as much for Dada waving off his shirt, as much for that splendid innings from Kaif. With the elegant cover drives, beautiful shots off the pads and the occasional aggressive shot, people were just about beginning to think if he would be the next Rahul Dravid. That innings at Lord’s showed his mantle and caliber as a player. As far as I can remember, he came in to bat when India were 140-odd for five with the top-five back in the hut whilst chasing 326. It was then, that he combined with Yuvraj Singh first and Harbhajan Singh next and the young man led India to victory. It’s his that very mate -Yuvraj who is now a household name in the country, and who has achieved the undisputed feat of leading his country to a World Cup win. But Kaif is still there where he was then, if not an worse; a raw unpolished talent who has ran out-of-favours with the selectors. Kaif, at merely 31, is now a distant memory for the Indian Cricket fan, who last saw him donning the national colors in 2006.

During his international days, he was an outstandingly fast runner between the wickets and with 13 Tests, his average of over 32 was not very different from that of our current national cricket captain. He already had a hard-fought match-saving 91 and a well made 148* to his name. Many players find it difficult to get along at the start of their careers. Even Tendulkar got his first ODI hundred after 79 innings. Had he been dropped after half a dozen games, just imagine where we would have stood today. Many face the harshness of failing in the beginning, very few (like Kaif) face the ignominy of being tagged “failure” for the rest of their lives.

However, Kaif’s is an unfinished story, he has been doing well in first-class cricket and though many believe its game-set-match for him, some, including former captain Anil Kumble believe that he can still make a comeback to the Test side, given Rahul Dravid’s recent retirement from the sport.