Mohammed Azharuddin
| India's most successful captain
in both Tests and one-day internationals, Mohammad Azharuddin started
his international career in 1984/85 in a spectacular fashion, scoring
a century in each of his first three Tests - a record. A wristy and elegant batsman, Azharuddin was a mainstay in the Indian middle order from then until he fell from favour in 1999. His wristy flicks, glances and drives have enthralled spectators worldwide. He has played more games and scored more runs than anyone else in the one-day game, and is near impossible to restrict when on song. He is an outstanding player of spin and medium-pace bowling, although in the past questions have been raised about his abilities when the ball is banged in short at pace. In his late thirties, Azhar is still on of India's best fielders at slip and inside the circle. He bowled occasional off-spinners in one-day cricket until a back strain forced him to leave the bowling to others. After losing the Indian captaincy in 1997, he was unaccountably dropped from the national team but returned to provide experience to a young and talented middle order and was eventually reinstated as captain in early 1998. While his batting ability has never been questioned, his captaincy remained under pressure and he was replaced again, by Sachin Tendulkar, after a poor showing in the 1999 World Cup. |
One-Day Batting Record
|
Matches
|
Innings
|
NotOut
|
Runs
|
Highest
|
Average
|
100s
|
50s
|
Catches
|
|
331
|
305
|
53
|
9339
|
153*
|
37.05
|
7
|
58
|
155
|
One-Day Bowling Record
|
Overs
|
Maidens
|
Runs
|
Wickets
|
Average
|
Best
|
5 wickets
|
Strike Rate
|
Economy
|
|
92
|
1
|
479
|
12
|
39.91
|
3/19
|
0
|
46.00
|
5.20
|