Eden Legend

England wicketkeeper Bruce French looks on as David Gower leaps to avoid a cut from India's Mohammad Azharuddin, England v India, third day, third Test, Edgbaston, 1986

I saw the start of the day 3 of the second test match between India and SA from the Eden Gardens on TV. Indian pair walked out to the middle. VVS Laxman and night watchman Amit Mishra.

I could not help but notice the swagger about the Very Very Special Laxman. He walked out probably believing that nothing can go wrong. You could see it in his body language. And when you believe that nothing can go wrong, nothing does.

Seeing images of Laxman bat today took me back a few years in the history of Indian cricket. To another great batsman who had a splendid record all over the world and more so at the venue. Mohammed Azharuddin. Every time he played at the venue he got runs. Lots of them! His dream run at the Eden Gardens began very early in his career when he scored a ton while playing there as part of an under-19 team.

I have always been a fan of the great wristy marvel. Sad that we seldom get to see compilations of Azhar’s great innings on any of the sports channels. There is of course a reason for the same. All the cricketers tainted with the dark max fixing scams are seldom mentioned. Their work seldom celebrated. The mention of their glory is forbidden.

Yes, what he did was shameful. Yes, he deserved every bit of the punishment for the offence. But, should that belittle his many splendid achievements? Should we not recall his mammoth contributions to the sport? His talent?
That 63 ball test century which was the fastest for some time. That clinical perfection with which he tore the spinners apart. Those magnificent flicks of the pads. More than 6000 Test runs. 22 Test hundreds. Over 9000 ODI runs. He was the most capped one day cricketer in the world before Sanath Jayasuria came by. The backward point/gully position that he had made his own. He still holds to record of the highest catches in ODIs and is in the top 5 in the list for Test matches. Should all this be forgotten?

I do not know about you but I have not forgotten this great Indian batsman. I still remember watching him live at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. I was lucky to see his trademark flick. The ball raced to the fences before the sound of the bat hitting the ball reached you. It reached the fence before you could complete the sentence, "What-A-Shot!"

I believe this is how I will continue to remember him for the rest of my life.

What a player!

Azhars profile on cricinfo.com