Congress wants ban on Azhar lifted, MPs meet Pawar

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) The Indian Cricket Board is under
pressure from the Congress party to revoke the life ban on
former skipper Mohd Azharuddin for his alleged involvement in
the 2000 match-fixing scandal.
Azharuddin, who is now a Congress Member of Parliament
(MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, was banned for life after
the BCCI found him guilty of being involved in the scandal
that rocked Indian cricket.
But Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh argue that the
ban on the former captain should be lifted now because several
other players, who faced similar charges, have been allowed
back into the game.
In fact, some of these MPs, including Jitin Prasad,
Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Finance
Committee chairman Rajiv Shukla, who is also a Congress
spokesman, and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar met
ICC vice-President and former BCCI President Sharad Pawar
yesterday to put forth their demand.
"I spoke to BCCI President Shashank Manohar and he said
that if Azhar himself shows interest in wanting the ban lifted
then it can be moved forward to the Annual General Meeting and
the the AGM will decide," Shukla said.
"The ban on Azharuddin can be lifted only if the BCCI AGM
deems it fit," he added.
Azharuddin, an elegant right-hand batsman from
Hyderabad, played 99 Tests and scored 6215 runs at an average
of 45. He played a whopping 334 one-dayers, accumulating 9378
runs at an average of 36.92. PTI PM