Amer Ali Khan, news editor of Urdu daily Siasat, has been nominated as a member of Telangana Legislative Council.
The Congress government had recommended names of academician M. Kodandaram and journalist Amer Ali Khan as MLC under Governor’s quota.
Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has accepted the recommendation of the state government.
Kodandaram heads Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), which had supported the Congress party in the recent Assembly elections.
Amir Ali Khan’s nomination is also seen as a thanksgiving gesture by the Congress party for the newspaper’s support.
The Congress has recommended his nomination in recognition of the social, economic, welfare and educational activities of ‘Siasat’, one of the largest circulated Urdu dailies in India.
Amer Ali Khan has been in the forefront of the movement to demand implementation of 12 percent reservation as promised by the previous BRS government.
The 50-year-old is in-charge of various programmes run by the Urdu newspaper. Having completed his Bachelors in Communication and Journalism from Osmania University and Masters in Business Administration from Sultan–ul-Uloom, he has been instrumental in forming an alliance of 10 Urdu dailies for content. Under his tutelage, Siasat has expanded to Bengaluru and Qatar for the Middle East edition.
Amer Ali Khan is son of Siasat chief editor Zahid Ali Khan, who was earlier associated with the TDP and also contested Lok Sabha elections from Hyderabad constituency in 2009.
He is the first Muslim legislator under the Congress government. It may be recalled that none of the Muslim candidates fielded by the Congress in recent Assembly elections was elected. They included former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir and former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin.
Shabbir was last week appointed as government advisor.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / January 27th, 2024
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during fielding practice. File | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
Watching Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli chase everything and catch everything today, it might be difficult to believe that India began as a team that chased reluctantly and caught by accident.
On a tour of Pakistan, Lala Amarnath, who was there as a media expert introduced me to Gul Mohammed, who had played eight times for India before migrating to Pakistan and playing there. “Greatest fielder,” said Amarnath in the manner he was famous for, leaving it to the listener to fill in the details.
In the years that Indian fielders dropped catches merrily and often let the ball slip through to the boundary, it was not difficult to earn that sobriquet. Perhaps there was one adequate fielder in every generation, and he automatically qualified as the greatest.
I didn’t tell Amarnath that, of course. I was young, on my first full tour and there was something about Amarnath — India’s first Test centurion and first captain of independent India — that kept such responses in check.
In India’s first-ever Test at Lord’s, Lall Singh, probably the only Test cricketer to be born in Malaysia, ran out Frank Woolley to reduce England to 19 for three on the first morning. In later years, Vinoo Mankad was a fine fielder off his own bowling, and Hemu Adhikari earned a reputation as a top class cover point. But it wasn’t until Tiger Pataudi — among the greatest cover points in the game — that India began to pay attention to this aspect of the game.
Trend-setter
“He was doing in the 1960s what modern fielders do as a matter of course now,” according to Sunil Gavaskar. In South Africa, Colin Bland, who many consider the greatest cover fielder ever, told me that Pataudi might have been better than Jonty Rhodes “because his anticipation was superior”.
“I am fanatical in my demands for keen fielding,” Pataudi wrote. He told his team in England, “Although I want to see a smart turnout when we leave the pavilion, once the match starts I want to see a lot of grubby knees…if it takes four or five days to get your flannels cleaned, blame the laundries. I am prepared to put up with a scruffy looking team, but I will never permit scruffy fielding.”
The philosophy percolated down. Pataudi’s boys Ajit Wadekar, Eknath Solkar, Abid Ali, Venkatraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar all played key roles as fielders in India’s maiden series wins in the West Indies and England, although he was no longer captain by then.
Attitude issues
Fielding and fitness began to be taken seriously by a team that had got off on the wrong foot thanks to the attitude of the Maharajahs who played the key roles in the early years and probably believed that running was beneath them. They were perhaps irritated too by the fact they couldn’t ask their retinue of servants to do the job instead.
The cricket historian Edward Docker summed up the early Indian approach thus: “The deep field couldn’t be relied upon to walk in with the bowler. Fieldsmen failed to anticipate the ball. Or overran it. Or used their feet to stop it. The catching was poor, the throwing abominable…”
Writing in the 1940s, the journalist Berry Sarbadhikary said, “Although homilies on the need for first-class fielding are indulged in freely by men in authority, it is the same persons who take the least notice of fielding ability when it comes to the actual selection…”
Watching Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli chase everything and catch everything today, it might be difficult to believe that India began as a team that chased reluctantly and caught by accident.
Emergence of fielding stars
Pataudi’s example and attitude changed all that. Brijesh Patel, who began his first class career in 1969-70 was still cutting off boundaries and cover drives nearly two decades later by which time India’s finest all round fielder had emerged. This was Mohammad Azharuddin, as spectacular in the slips as he was in the outfield, his lithe form adding grace to his movements.
By then Kapil Dev had already exhibited his natural athleticism — he was a superb catcher at gully, but was needed to patrol the outfield where his casual throws to the top of the stumps were a treat.
India’s stock grew in white ball cricket, and a bunch of fielders helped make that happen: Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif.
Today it is no longer necessary to ‘hide’ a fielder, as India were once forced to do when players were important for one or two of three skills, or when they were chosen for reasons other than cricket.
The flat-footed was stationed in the slips with the prayer that no snick would go to him; or at mid-on hoping that an on-drive might fortuitously be stopped by a boot or a knee.
The story of Indian fielding is the evolution from ten passengers (usually) in a team to none at all. The Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram, who led on a tour of England, would not recognise this team.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Between Wickets / by Suresh Menon / June 08th, 2022
Former Indian cricket captain and former MP from Moradabad, Mohd. Azharuddin has been appointed as the working president of Telanagana Pradesh Congress Committee.
He will be the fourth working president and appointed ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections. However, he is associated with the party’s ongoing electoral campaign.
Mr. Azharuddin, who is keen on contesting from Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency, said if the party wishes he won’t mind contesting from any other constituency in Telangana.
Speaking to media in Hyderabad after his appointment, Mr. Azaharuddin demanded an apology from Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for “intimidating” a person who questioned him on the unfulfilled promise of 12% reservations to Muslims. He said Mr. Rao should have answered the question instead of intimidating the person who posed it.
Mr. Azharuddin said he was not here to “get something from politics but give back something to the society” after playing cricket for the country for a long time.
Mr. Azharuddin predicted that the People’s front of Congress, TTDP, CPU and Telamgana Jana Samithi will romp home easily and asked people to vote for the alliance.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by R. Ravikanth Reddy / Hyderabad – November 30th, 2018
“Do you know I can read and write Telugu fluently? I can write the script as good as anyone else. I had a tuition teacher for my Telugu language,’’ Azharuddin said.
Hyderabad:
The magic, mystery and awe were unmistakable as Mohammad Azharuddin strolled into the Telangana Today newsroom on Tuesday evening. The white T-shirt with the collar up and light blue denims marked the legend’s customary style well-known to his lakhs of fans. Many journalists — some with generous amount of grey and some others much younger — greeted him with eager enthusiasm, bringing alive memories of his incredible batting many years ago.
The former Indian cricket team skipper went down memory lane with the effortless ease which he displayed in the wrist-flicks in his prime. Reminiscing his Vittawaldi days, he recalled those glorious times as an upcoming cricketer. “Do you know I can read and write Telugu fluently? I can write the script as good as anyone else. I had a tuition teacher for my Telugu language,’’ he said.
Azharuddin continued: “I miss those golden days. The roads were empty. It was easy to drive. But, now the traffic is so chaotic. Basically, the people are not disciplined. If told, they would disagree with you.’’
The former stylish cricketer said there could have been a better planning while constructing the metro rail. “It is in the middle of the road and the pillars are very dangerous. If you see in other countries, the metros are positioned to a side, away from the motor roads. It looks scary here.’’
He also revealed his love for the bikes. “I always liked ‘Jawa’, particularly the red ones. It had a royal look. We had a few in and around our streets in Himmayatnagar. Those days owning a Jawa or Yezdi was a big thing.’’
Going to his younger days as cricketer, he said he first played for Deccan Club. “I think I joined in 1977. I remember playing on the bumpy outfields of Parade grounds. It was horrific. We usually played without helmets. But it was enjoyable and there was a lot of camaraderie. I learnt my game from this ground. At times, it was challenging.’’
Azhar said he always enjoyed fielding. ”Somehow, fielding came naturally to me. I would attack the ball. We should be focused and should not shy away from the ball. You know, if a fielder is scared, the ball will chase you. I never flinched from hard work and I used to make it a point to put in extra hours in my training session for fielding.’’
In a lighter vein, he even cited the example of Indian women fielding better than their male counterparts. “In Champions Trophy, our fielders missed some easy run outs while the women ran out six batters in the World Cup,’’ he made a tongue-in-cheek statement.
source: http://www.telanganatoday.com/ Telangana Today / Home> Sport / by N Jagannath Das / July 05th, 2017
PIONEERING FEAT: Mohammed Abdul Hai entered the record books in 1973-74 as the first century-make in Deodhar Trophy. / The Hindu Photo Archives
Mohammed Abdul Hai became the country’s first century-maker in the earliest avatar of abridged cricket, introduced through the Deodhar Trophy in 1973-74.
“The first doctor to play for India was my dream, but that was not to be,” the general physician settled in Michigan sighed wistfully, when reminiscing with The Hindu.
“There was a fairly large turnout at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium for the 1974-75 quarterfinal in Chennai,” continued Hai. For taking on North Zone was a star-studded South, led by S. Venkatraghavan.
Legends lined up were M.A.K. Pataudi, G.R. Viswanath, Abid Ali, Jayantilal Kenia and E.A.S. Prasanna, all of them Test players, three of whom were Hai’s Hyderabad Ranji teammates.
A consistent scorer in the event’s opening edition a year before and having played for Brondesbury CC alongside Mike Gatting in the Middlesex league, Hai felt equipped for the 60-overs-a-side challenge. With one opener gone for no score, the stylish southpaw walked in and began scoring at a brisk pace.
“Raj Singh Dungarpur’s eyes widened with amazement at what was then an astonishing rate — four runs an over — as also on South ‘amassing’ 248 for nine,” Hai recalled, his endeavour ending at 101, castled by Madan Lal.
Hai also played in Prof. D.B. Deodhar’s benefit match in Pune, the patriarch’s hometown.
He was offered an opportunity to play in/for Pakistan by Asif Iqbal, a senior at Hyderabad’s Nizam College.
The college’s alumni includes two India captains — Ghulam Ahmed and Mohd. Azharuddin — Test players M.L. Jaisimha, Abbas Ali Baig and Jayantilal Kenia besides Habeeb Ahmed, who led the Indian Starlets to the aforementioned nation.
“A decade after the Deodhar Trophy began, India clinched the Prudential World Cup in 1983, thus making the nation a cricket super power,” noted Prof. A. Prasanna Kumar, a Fulbright Fellow, sports columnist and author.
“If the sport’s reign was divided into eras, the 1970s belonged to Sunil Gavaskar, the ’80s to Kapil Dev, the ’90s to Sachin Tendulkar and thereon to M.S. Dhoni. Much credit is due to the limited-over version named after the Grand Old Man,” added Prasanna Kumar, who was a commentator during Visakhapatnam’s first One-Day International between New Zealand and India in 1988.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports / by A. Joseph / Visakhapatnam – March 22nd, 2014
Mohammed Azharuddin has turned 50. He lost his grandfather, the man he loved the most on November 17, 1984. Azhar debuted on December 31, 1984, scoring three centuries. In his 17- year cricketing career, he was captain for nine years. A life ban on playing cricket, divorce with his wife Naureen , second marriage and separation from Sangeeta Bijlani, losing a 19-year-old son to a road accident — he has seen it all.
(Ekta Kapoor and Mohammed…)
In the words of Ekta Kapoor , who has now bought the rights of making a film on his life, he is a Victim and a Victor who has emerged victorious. He had led a glorious life, but one that was never picture- perfect. He is humble, emotionally strong and very stylish. Bombay Times spoke exclusively to both about their reasons for making and agreeing to this film on one of India’s greatest cricketing icons. Excerpts:
In conversation with Ekta Kapoor:There are several cricketing legends. Why a film based on Azharuddin?
My dad is an obsessive cricketing fan and for him, Azhar sir is a cricketing god. My dad has shifted his interest in the construction business and is usually not interested in any of the movies I have made. But, he is jumping for this movie. Like my mother, Azhar sir, too, is an Aquarian and number 8. She too likes him, does not cry and is strong for everybody around her. He has been the captain all his life, be it on the field or off it. Some people are victims and some are victors, but those who are victorious have their collar up like he always does.
You can make a documentary on 100 cricketers. But that is only one level of the film. I remember I was 26 when I was awarded the Ernst & Young award for being the youngest and the first woman to be given the award. But four days after, I was told that the award could not be given to me as my TRPs were fake. No one really takes you to a courtroom as in the minds of people, they want to believe that you are wrong. Eventually, it got proved that I was right when Rahul Bajaj called me and gave me the award. I have never enjoyed picking up an award more than that, sitting amongst such old men. At the same time, on the day I was being given the award, due to a personal issue that morning, my happiness was diluted. And that’s what happens in life too, where life is not picture perfect. And I am here to tell his story.
Here is a man who has been condemned but has stood up. Some people wear age on their face, some wear experience. He wears his experience. I had decided that I will just pick up the phone and tell him that we want to present your life. It’s a life with a lot of blemishes, a lot of colour. The best thing about his life is that it is not picture-perfect as one thing was always missing. For instance, he played only 99 matches, not 100. I am not a cricket fan. I am a fan of the man. People have pushed him down, but he stood up and walked and at 50, stands tall. He is an icon whose story needs to be told.
In conversation with Mohammed Azharuddin:You are 50. Are you excited about a film being made on your life?
I am happy. I was very reluctant and took one year to agree. I realised that people want to know my story. I have gone through a lot of ups and downs and a lot of hardwork. The biggest thing I possess is infinite patience. Once you are patient, things fall in place. During that period of time, I could have said so many things that would have backfired on me. But I didn’t, only due to my patience. At the end of the day, it took a long time but you can’t fight destiny. Whatever is destined to happen will happen. I am excited to see how the film will be made. There are many struggles that I have forgotten, but the film will probably remind me of those. I am a positive person and the story is finally a positive one.
Where do you get your patience from?
My religion. Allah is with people who show patience. If you are down in the dumps, Allah will help you if you have belief. But this is a personal thing between you and him. You can’t fool Allah. I remember after I scored my three 100s in my first match, this photographer saw me praying and wanted to take pictures. I was reluctant, but allowed him to. He came the next day and wanted to take them again as he said that despite him taking so many pictures, his reel was blank.
Why do you always have your collar standing?
I used to always field at silly point or point, where the rays of the sun were always very strong and my neck would burn. So, I started wearing a handkerchief, but it was uncomfortable. I later moved to collar that has now become my style. People like me this way.
What do you consider your strengths?
My strength is my humility. When you are humble, people like you. I feel happy when people tell me, ‘Sir, you should play now also.’ I know I can’t physically. I keep myself fit. Somebody today tells me, ‘Why don’t you go and play in New Zealand?’ They know I can’t play, but it’s their feeling that makes them say that. I have always been strong and never show my emotions. I will be the last person to come and say, ‘Well done.’ Number 8 is an up-and-down number, When you are up, nobody can touch you, but when you are down, everybody pulls you down. Emotionally, I depend only on myself. My strong belief in the Almighty carries me.
What do you think are the qualities the actor who will play you should possess?
He needs to be stylish. People tell me that my game was very stylish. I learnt to be stylish over time. Allah gave me the talent. I showed it on the field. Saif Ali Khan, due to his cricketing background and style, would be my first choice, but Ekta is the boss and will decide.
Do you watch Hindi movies?
My favourite movie is Abhimaan as my favourite actor Mr Amitabh Bachchan was in it. The only time my mum lifted her hand at me was when she caught me listening to Sholay dialogues by the roadside. That is the only time she beat me. Long back, I told Mr Bachchan that, ‘Sir, because of you I got beaten.’ Nobody can touch Mr Bachchan in style.
You never showed your emotion on the field. Have you ever broken down in life?
I broke down only when I lost my grandfather Mir Vajehuddin (nana). I was 21 then and it was November 17, 1984. I debuted a month later on December 31 and made three 100s. Till his last day when he died of a heart attack, I would sleep in between my nana and nani. He was a very pious man, who was a descendent of Prophet Mohammed’s family, so he belonged to his lineage. I can always feel him next to me. At times, I was not even allowed to watch films when I was growing up as he would say, ‘No, this is not your line.’ I would get frustrated. I would tell him, ‘You let everybody go, but don’t let me go.’ And he would say, ‘You will remember me one day.’ Can you imagine that the autograph I sign was taught to me by him. He signed for me and would make me practise it 50-60 times a day. He was a brilliant mathematician, who could count in Arabic and Persian and give the answer in English. He taught me a lot of things. He said, ‘Stay humble as that is the best thing you can possess in life. The day you think you are somebody, you will come down.’ You couldn’t talk to him looking into his eyes, as he had very powerful eyes. He would never look into a camera as he would say that the camera would break if he did so.
He never told me but he told my mother, ‘Don’t tell him but he will become a big cricketer’ My parents too were very supportive of me playing. My father had only one wish that I should score a 100 at the Lords cricket ground, which made him very happy when I did. I would get up at 4.30 in the morning and before going to practice, I would give my grandmother tea. At that time, she would give me her blessings, which were very powerful. I am the eldest son (five younger siblings) and it is my job to play captain even at home. I never show my emotions. When my son passed away, so many times I felt like crying, but then there are so many people behind me, like my parents. If I break down. they will break down and I need to carry them with me. My mother even today keeps telling me, ‘Allah should have taken me.’ It was very tough for them as within a week, they had lost two grandchildren.
Talk about your relationship with Kapil Dev?
Kapil paji is a very nice man. He understands people. He could take anything from my kit bag and so could I. We did not need to ask each other. Usually people don’t give even their broken bats to you. You have to a have a big heart to give. If you give, you get. If you don’t give, you don’t get. I had that rapport with him. I played under him and he played under me. As a captain, I didn’t need to tell him anything as he knew everything exactly what he had to do. I would just give him the ball. I knew he knew his job and if he goes on to the field, he will do his job. I learnt from him. If he is convinced, he will support you. Mr Kamal Morarka and Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur also helped me. I didn’t meet Mr Morarka many times, but at that time he really supported me. He is a nice person who is not scared of anybody. That’s what is most important. He will express what he feels. I never forget people who help me.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Hindi> Bollywood / by Priya Gupta, TNN / January 31st, 2014
