Mohammed Azharuddeen

Mohammed Azharuddeen is an Indian Cricketer born on 22nd March 1994 in the city of Thalangara, Kerala. He is a right-handed batsman known for his fantastic starts at the top and also for his ability to keep the wickets.

Career

Domestic Career

Mohammad Azharuddeen kicked off his domestic career in a first-class match against Goa at Porvorim on November 15, 2015. The match lasted for only three days as Kerala thrashed Goa by an innings and 83. Mohammed opened the innings for his team and scored 31 runs off 55 deliveries. While he did not keep the wickets in that game, Azharuddeen took one catch for his team.

He received his maiden List-A cap in a match against Haryana on December 10, 2015 at Alur. Mohammed Azharuddeen once again breached the 30-run mark as he ended with a 31-ball 32, albeit in a losing cause. His T20 debut was not so memorable as Azharuddeen managed only 14 runs against the Jammu and Kashmir team. The right-handed batsman received his first T20 cap on January 2, 2016.

So far, Mohammed Azharuddeen has played 22 first-class matches, scoring 959 runs at an average of 25.91. He has one century and five half-centuries to his name in first-class cricket. The Kerala batsman is yet to touch the three-figure mark in List-A matches.

However, Azharuddeen has a T20 hundred to his name. He played an excellent inning of 137 runs against the Mumbai cricket team during the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium. His knock received appreciation from the likes of Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag.

Courtesy of his century against Mumbai, Azharuddeen became a talking point in the entire country. His aggressive batting display wowed the cricket fans and also impressed the Royal Challengers Bangalore team management.

IPL Career

Mohammed Azharuddeen is yet to make his IPL debut. He received a contract from the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the IPL 2021 Player Auction. While many fans expected a bidding war for Azharuddeen, the Royal Challengers managed to sign him at his base price of 20 lakhs.

Background

Hailing from Thalanagara, Mohammed Azharuddeen has a big family. He is the youngest of the eight brothers in his family. All his brothers are passionate about cricket. Unfortunately, Azharuddeen lost his parents before he could realize his dream of becoming a top-level cricketer. His elder brother Unais sacrificed everything he had to help Azharuddeen chase his dreams. In one of his interviews, Azharuddeen disclosed that his elder brother Kamaruddin convinced his parents to name him after the former Indian team skipper Mohammed Azharuddin.