Hyderabad, Oct 31 (HS): Senior Congress leader and former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin was sworn in as a minister in the Telangana government on Friday. The oath of office was administered by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan, Hyderabad.
Azharuddin’s induction follows his nomination as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota, paving the way for his entry into the state cabinet. With this, the total strength of the cabinet rises to 16 ministers, and Azharuddin becomes the sole Muslim representative in the current Council of Ministers.
The move comes ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-election, a constituency with a substantial minority voter base.
Born on February 8, 1963, in Hyderabad, Azharuddin studied at All Saints High School and graduated with a B.Com from Nizam College. A prodigious cricketer, he made his international debut in 1984, scoring centuries in each of his first three Test matches. He went on to play 99 Tests and 334 One Day Internationals for India, earning fame as one of the most elegant batsmen of his era.
Azharuddin’s career ended abruptly in 2000 following his implication in a match-fixing scandal, which led to a life ban by the BCCI. The Andhra Pradesh High Court later overturned the ban in 2012 on procedural grounds, though it did not exonerate him.
Post-retirement, Azharuddin entered politics, joining the Congress party in 2009, and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) the same year. In 2018, he was appointed Working President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC).
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
