If there is a lesson for sportsmen to learn from Azharuddin’s case, it is that they have to set far higher standards for themselves and the sport they play
The Andhra Pradesh high court’s ruling overturning the cricket board’s life ban on Mohammed Azharuddin may have come 12 years after it was imposed, but even so it brings the stylish cricketer some relief.
The ruling, if not contested by the board (and there is no real reason why it should), will bring an end to a sordid episode in world cricket with several players, including South Africa’s skipper Hansie Cronje and India’s Azhar, were accused of involvement in the cricket betting markets in the 1990s.
To pursue this any further in the courts might be futile as so much happened in those days at the height of the scandal. Not all who nurtured a connection to Asia’s illegal betting syndicates or indulged in cricket gambling were given life bans. Pakistan’s Salim Malik, Cronje and Azhar were the ones slapped with the heaviest penalty.
There is no arguing against the fact that anything which sullies the fair name of cricket — which despite its not so glorious past when it flourished in England as a medium of wagers in the 18th and 19th centuries still prides itself on being a metaphor for fair play — should be condemned. Those who continued to indulge in nefarious activities despite the early warning signs had to even undergo imprisonment in Britain, where the laws against match-fixing are now very stringent.
The high court agreed with Azhar’s counsel that there was no evidence of Azhar succumbing to pressures when he was an active player. While the fact remains the Cronje tapes revealed a nexus between bookmakers and international captains, to go over old arguments serves no useful purpose. Sadly, the ban meant Azhar couldn’t play in 100 Tests in a game that celebrates its statistical landmarks.
Considering the scale of punishments meted out to those who commit offences in civil society, a life ban in sport seems comparatively harsh, but sportsmen, including the cyclist Lance Armstrong (who was belatedly accused of doping), tend to accept them as inevitable if they have been caught in questionable activities. It is to Azhar’s credit that he ran a long legal battle to get at the heart of the matter, which is to do with personal honour and sporting integrity.
Azharuddin, now a Congress MP, will not get his cricket career back, nor can the years be rolled back. If there is a lesson for sportsmen to learn from his case, it is that they have to set far higher standards for themselves and the sport they play. While scandals in sport may be as old as the hills, sportsmen must not only be clean but also be seen to be clean and compete fairly at all times.
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