Cricketer-turned-politician Mohammed Azharuddin is set to test his political luck from his native state of Telangana after Congress fields him from Jubilee Hills seat for the November 30 polls. Once known for his stylish flicks and sharp catching on the cricket field, the former Indian cricket team captain said he will bat aggressively and field properly to win on this new pitch.
"I was very happy to get the ticket this time from my own state. I must thank my high command - Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Sonia Gandhi ji. Rahul ji, Priyanka ji and most importantly our PCC chief A Revanth Reddy for giving me this opportunity. Insha Allah (god willing) we will try our best and win the election," said Azhar in an interview with PTI.
The swashbuckling batsman from Hyderabad, Azharuddin entered the political arena with a win from Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009.
In 2014, he contested from Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur but lost and is now entering the state electoral contest for the first time by seeking to wrest the Jubilee Hills constituency in the Secunderabad Lok Sabha segment from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working president said, "Winds of change" are blowing in Telangana in the Congress' favour and "we will definitely prevail".
"It is the right time, we have the right people, we are working very hard and the public also wants the Congress to come to power. Development that has happened is only in some urban areas and not elsewhere, so we will focus there and the six guarantees we have made, we will definitely abide by them and implement them," he said.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi's Gopinath Maganti is the sitting MLA from Jubilee Hills from where Azhar has been fielded.