Azhar annoyed by Wisden snub

Former Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin has expressed displeasure at being snubbed by organisers of the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century awards function in London's Wembley Conference Centre on July 23.

"I have self-respect. I have my esteem. I wouldn't have gone anyway because I was not formally invited," Azhar was quoted as saying by the Mumbai eveninger Mid-Day.

According to the report, Azhar who is in London was happy that Kapil Dev, who finally won the award, recognised his contribution during his speech.

"It's not my loss, it's theirs. In the end, I was mentioned. They couldn't take that away from me. Kapil was a deserving winner for all that he did for Indian cricket. He created a new interest in the game as soon as he came on to the scene."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has slapped a life-ban on Azhar, who was one of the 16 nominees for the award, for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing episode.

Former Test player Yajurvindra Singh, managing director of Wisden Online India, clarified that Azhar was not part of the entourage of former players who were flown down to London from India.

"The feedback our event managers got was that the English press would have a go at him and, in the end, it would be embarrassing for him and for us," said Singh, who holds the world record for maximum number of catches (five) in a Test innings by a non-wicketkeeper.

But Singh said Azhar would have been welcome for the awards function if he were in London. "If we had something against Azhar, we wouldn't have nominated him for the award," he pointed out.

Azhar, who claims he weighs the same as in his playing days, still trains daily and bats in the nets whenever he is in Hyderabad. He plans to open a state-of-the-art gymnasium in the city soon.

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