Captain8217;s knock

There was no ambiguity, however, when the journey began so famously that new year8217;s eve in Calcutta 15 yearsago, as the world took wide-eyed notice of his lopsided grin and the three consecutive Test tons he notched up on debut. But when Azhar batted attention was focused not so much on the rapidly ticking scoreboard though he went on to become the highest scorer in one-day internationals as on the most famous wrists in cricket.

Azhar has always been a stylist: The late turn of the wrist surely they were lavished with natural ball-bearings, sighed his hypnotised fans; tensile was the adjective his critics preferred; a revolving door, Lance Kluesner decided as Azhar rescued his team from a looming follow-on in Calcutta in 1997 and smashed a quickfire 109 off 78 balls and his corresponding movement back and across the stumps, his gentle fits of aggression as he bludgeoned the ball to the boundary with the lightest of bats.

Even now when the feet move only at the nets, when wristy shots go straight into the waiting hands of fielders, when his game becomes increasingly suspect against the rising ball, hecontinues to give expositions of fielding as a fine art with his reflex catches. It8217;s a different matter that now even when he works the ball around for a match-winning half-century against Pakistan, his old colleagues cry about the painful figure he cuts.

In fact, the very timing that helped launch the Azhar school of batting seems to have deserted him in recent years as his captaincy became increasingly controversial and calls for his retirement became deafening.

The man who claimed he had never wanted the captaincy that fell into his improbable lap in 1990 and which was always shadowed by uncertainty, except during Sachin8217;s first 17-month stint when we just knew he would be back was accused of cynically ousting any contenders to the top slot. It was always something of a paradox that a cricketer hailed for his gentlemanly demeanour on the field, who walked before the umpire8217;s hand went up, has lived from controversy to controversy.

Mystifyingly, India8217;s most successful captain has always had hisdesire to win doubted. Accordingly, every decision has come in for scrutiny, has spawned conspiracy theories. Why did he make Sachin bowl the last over in the Hero Cup, never mind that it paid off? Why did he field first against Australia this summer, never mind the clouds hovering overhead? Probably the one event that will forever stain his captaincy is that tragic World Cup semifinal in Calcutta against Sri Lanka. Asked about it later, he admitted: 8220;The one I rue the most is the decision I took to field.8221;

Part of the problem has been Azhar8217;s communication skills. Azhar8217;s captaincy coincided with a revolution in how cricket was watched, appreciated and analysed. The satellite era brought the game into everyday drawing rooms, with heavily advertised telecasts catering to a wider, less purist audience and suave commentators deconstructing every smile and seeking soundbites after every match.

Whether Azhar refused to perform or whether he was not up to it is not clear, but his tendency to keep his side ofthe tale to himself only fed the rumour mill. It didn8217;t help any that big money had clobbered all innocence out of the game with allegations of cricketers giving personal endorsements priority over team performance and matches being choreographed by the betting syndicate.

Azhar8217;s style of captaincy 8212; every squad member must understand the role he has to play too was deemed out of step with the demands of a generation enamoured of sophisticated personnel management. He was accused of not encouraging his juniors. If in the World Cup match against Sri Lanka this summer he told Saurav Ganguly, 8220;I8217;ll go for the singles because you need to go past Kapil8217;s record of 175,8221; it did not erase the fact that just months earlier he had dropped a crucial catch and deflected the responsibility to an edgy Hyderabad colleague.

Perhaps contradiction is Mohammed Azharuddin8217;s middle name. An intensely private man whose glamorous romance became part of cricketing debates; an intensely devout man who packs in his prayermat among his Versace suits; a man who hates being quizzed on his penchant for the good things in life, yet who on his webside lists shopping as his favourite pastime.

Perhaps his critics too are entitled to their bittersweet remembrances of an era at an end.

8212; Mini Kapoor