Ganguly refusing to carry drinks during 1991-92 debut tour claims 'rubbish': Azharuddin

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin recently stated that current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly never had any disciplinary issues with the national side and he respects people a lot. In an interview with Sportskeeda, Mohammad Azharuddin finally gave his verdict on the allegations that were made against Sourav Ganguly during his debut one-day series in Australia.

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Mohammad Azharuddin praises BCCI President Sourav Ganguly 

Mohammad Azharuddin, during the chat, came out in support of Sourav Ganguly and said that media reports regarding Sourav Ganguly being indisciplined was entirely 'fabricated' and nothing as such happened on the ground. The media back then had speculated that during the Benson and Hedges Cup in Australia during the 1991-92 season, the then-debutant for India, Sourav Ganguly refused to carry drinks when he wasn't playing in the starting XI.

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Sourav Ganguly himself in the past denied the allegations and claimed in his autobiography 'A Century is Not Enough: My Roller-Coaster Ride to Success' that it was the team manager Ranbir Singh Mahendra who had a problem with his presence of the tour. Ironically, it was Mahendra who was largely responsible for Ganguly's ouster from the Indian team as its captain in late 2005, when he became the BCCI President, winning against Jagmohan Dalmiya's faction.

Mohammad Azharuddin has backed the former India captain by saying that sometimes people write things just for the sake of writing it. He further said that Sourav Ganguly is a very nice person and respected people due to which he became a big and successful captain for the national side.

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Talking about Sourav Ganguly's talent, Azharuddin said that he had so much talent and when his time came, he proved everyone that he was the best player around by becoming the best opener. Ganguly wasn't the only player to have blossomed under Azharuddin's captaincy as the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid also benefitted while playing under him during the initial stages of their careers. Mohammad Azharuddin was the also reason behind Sachin Tendulkar being promoted to the top of batting order.

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Mohammad Azharuddin makes fans nostalgic with batting video 

The former skipper took to social media on Thursday to post a video where he was seen hitting a few balls. In the video, Mohammad Azharuddin offered his fans a treat by giving them a glimpse of those delightful shots. His shots include a backfoot punch, a couple of cover drives, a cut and to cap off the video and a flick on the leg side.

Mohammad Azharuddin has represented India in 99 Tests and 334 ODIs. He has scored 6,215 runs in Test cricket while accumulating 9,378 runs in the ODI format. Azharuddin remains India’s fourth most-capped cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid. He has led India in 174 ODIs and 47 Tests with India winning 90 and 14 of them respectively. The record was broken by former skipper MS Dhoni in 2014.

(IMAGE: MOHAMMAD AZHARUDDIN / INSTAGRAM)