Mohammed Azharuddin thanks fan after throwback photo with Sachin Tendulkar resurfaces

A fan had taken to Twitter to post a throwback picture of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin from 1998. Both the players played together for the Indian Cricket Team, in fact, it was under Azharuddin that Tendulkar made his debut as an opener. In the image, Tendulkar can be seen standing with Azharuddin. As they both sip coffee, Azhar seems to look a little tired which is probably why he said that the coffee woke him up. He then went on to thank the fan who shared the image.

Azharuddin replied to the tweet thanking the fan and saying "Seems like the coffee is waking me up. @sachin_rt  Thanks for sharing."

In the early 1990s when Tendulkar had already established himself in the Indian Cricket team, an opportunity knocked at his door when opener Navjot Sidhu pulled out of a match owing to a stiff neck. Tendulkar spotted the chance and approached the then captain Azharuddin.

Following a discussion with him and the coach, Tendulkar got what he wanted – the opening slot. India was to take on New Zealand in an ODI to be played in Auckland. Tendulkar told them that he needed one chance so he could play his shots in the beginning, rather than building partnerships at a later stage. He told them he wanted to attack and put pressure on them. Tendulkar smashed a memorable 82 runs off 49 runs in that match.

Azharuddin was one of India's most successful captains

Azharuddin became the captain of the Indian team succeeding Krishnamachari Srikkanth in 1989. He led Team India in 47 Test matches and 174 One Day Internationals and led them to victory in 90 ODIs, the highest until surpassed by M.S. Dhoni on 2 September 2014. His 14 test match wins as captain was a record until it was beaten by Sourav Ganguly, who has 21 test match wins to his name.

Renowned as an elegant middle-order batsman and one of India's most successful captains, he played 99 tests and 334 one-day matches for India. His international playing career came to an end when he was found to be involved in a match-fixing scandal in 2000 and subsequently banned by the BCCI for life. In 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court declared the life ban illegal.

Azharuddin formally joined the Indian National Congress party on 19 February 2009. He won the 2009 Indian general election from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh to become a Member of Parliament of India. Mohammed Azharuddin had disclosed his intention to contest the 2019 elections from Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency in 2019.

In September 2019, Azharuddin was elected as the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. He is currently holding the position of Working President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.

(Image Credits: PTI/Sachin Tendulkar Instagram)