Why Mohammad Azharuddin always played with his collar up
Despite all the controversies he was amidst, Mohammad Azharuddin was one of the most successful captains for India. He led the Indian side during most part of the 1990s. In addition to being a leader on the field, he had the calm and composed demeanour required while handling pressure situations.
One of the specific aspects cricket fans remember him by was his trademark wristy leg-side flicks that were second to none during that point of time. He exuded style with his batting and was a livewire on the field too. Azhar was one of the best fielders to have been a part of the Indian slip cordon.
The way the former Indian skipper carried himself during a match displayed that he maintained his own style on and off the field. Azhar's collar-up look is one that will be etched in the minds of fans when looking back on the Hyderabad-born's career.
Many who watched him might have assumed that he only showed arrogance through this mannerism of lifting up his collar and playing. However, the real reason for this particular habit was revealed by the 53-year-old to radio channel, Fever 104 FM.
“While fielding at point, I used to have problems in my neck skin because of the exposure to the sun. Hence, I decided to raise my collar as protection and it became a habit,” said the former Indian captain.
Azhar also spoke about playing with the white helmet. During a time when helmets were not mandatory and rare, Azhar made wearing the white helmet another one of his quirks.
“I had a liking for white helmet since we used it a lot during playing Tests. And since there was no compulsion of using a blue helmet, I played with a white one,” he said.
Having made his debut for India in 1984 against England, to date Azhar is the only batsman who has three centuries in each of his first three Tests. As a captain, Azhar held the record for winning the most Tests and ODIs as an Indian captain.
India won 90 ODIs and 14 Test matches under his captaincy. These records were broken by MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly in ODIs and Tests respectively. In 455 international innings, Azhar scored 15593 runs at an average of just under 40, with 29 hundreds and 79 fifties to his name.
The end of Azhar's career was marred with personal controversies and match-fixing scandals, and hence, he was not able to play his 100th Test match, ending his career on 99 Tests.
After his cricketing career ended, he ventured into Indian politics and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh from 2009 to 2014.