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Ex-India captain Azharuddin takes helm as Telangana minister amid BJP criticism

Soumyajit Dutta

Azharuddin swears in as Telangana minister [Source: @azharflicks/X.com]Azharuddin swears in as Telangana minister [Source: @azharflicks/X.com]

Former Indian cricketer and ex-India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has stepped into the big shoes of political affairs as a Telangana minister. The Congress leader was sworn in as a minister in Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy's cabinet on Friday. 

Azharuddin participated in a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan, where Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath of office and secrecy to him in the presence of senior leaders and the Chief Minister.

BJP critics Azharuddin's appointment

Notably, this move has been seen as particularly beneficial for the Congress. The BJP, the opposition political party, has termed Azharuddin's appointment as Telangana Minister a case of “political appeasement” aimed at minority vote-banking ahead of the bypoll.

The Jubilee Hills bypoll, which is set to take place soon, comprises approximately one lakh Muslim voters. Hence, Azharuddin's appointment may play a significant role in the bypoll. 

However, Azharuddin dismissed the claims linking his appointment to the bypoll, calling them rubbish and unrelated matters.

“I am happy. I thank my party’s high command, the public, and my supporters. This (becoming a minister) has nothing to do with the Jubilee by-election. These are two separate matters and should not be linked,” Azharuddin said.

Though Azharuddin steps into a new role as a political leader, it is true that he isn’t new to leadership. He was a moderately successful captain of the Indian cricket team.

As captain, Mohammad Azharuddin led India for nearly a decade, achieving record-setting success in ODIs before his career ended amid match-fixing scandals. Under his leadership, India won 90 out of 174 ODIs, the most by any Indian captain until MS Dhoni surpassed him in 2014. He also guided India to Asia Cup titles in 1990 and 1995.