Mohammad Azharuddin, the former Indian cricket captain and current Congress Member of Parliament from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, was on a whistle-stop tour of Kerala. Amid the hustle and bustle that seems to surround him wherever he goes, Metro Plus caught up for a quick chat with the affable cricketer-turned-politician. Excerpts from an interview…
Memories of Kerala
I have great memories of Kerala; all the greenery and the beaches. Coming from Hyderabad, which is around 250 km inland, there were not many opportunities to chill out on the beach. I remember having fun at Kovalam beach with my teammates when we came to play a one day match against the West Indies in 1988 and later in 1995 when I came here for the Ranji Trophy, and many times afterwards.
On celebrity politicians
There is no harm in being a celebrity politician because in politics there is no point in thinking/acting like a celebrity. You have to think like the common man. Although I admit, my celebrity status – all of which came to me because of cricket – meant that I didn't have to spend time in getting my profile/persona across to my constituents. On the flipside it does put you in the spotlight.
On IPL and his generation missing out on the action
Controversies aside, it's undoubtedly a revolution that has happened to cricket – a much needed boost in a sense. Obviously IPL has increased the commercial potential of cricket and brought in unimaginable amounts of money. But we should remember that profits apart, in the end it's the game that is important. As for missing out on it, I don't think that will ever be an issue. We made the best possible with what we had.
On endorsements by cricketers
It's each person's private decision how much they want to get involved in endorsement deals. But again as I said before, cricket should be the first priority. After all it's cricket and their game that gets each individual the endorsement in the first place.
