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A political storm has emerged in Telangana amid the induction of controversial former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin into the state cabinet after Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath at Raj Bhavan, on 31st October. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his cabinet colleagues attended the event. Hon'ble Governor Shri @Jishnu_Devvarma administered the oath of office to Mohd. Azharuddin as the Minister in the State cabinet at Raj Bhavan today. Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri A @revanth_anumula congratulated Mohd. Azharuddin on being sworn in as the Minister in his… pic.twitter.com/HRabZtNI4A— IPRDepartment (@IPRTelangana) October 31, 2025 According to reports, Azharuddin could be offered the positions of Home Ministry or Minorities Welfare and Sports Ministry. His appointment gave the Congress government its first Muslim cabinet member. Meanwhile, Mahesh Kumar Goud the president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and multiple other top Congress leaders were caught off gaurd by the decision. On 29th October, he acknowledged to a select members of the media that he was unaware of the development beforehand, reported Telangana Today. According to party sources, his remarks highlighted the absence of consultation and the rising resentment among senior leaders over unilateral actions initiated by some party members. They are upset about being left out of crucial decisions and have reservations about Azharuddin’s selection since it shows that the party is trying to win over a certain (Muslim) demographic before the Jubilee Hills by-election. Notably, Azharuddin has yet to join the council or legislative assembly which is a prerequisite for becoming a state minister and Varma has not approved his nomination to the legislative council under the governor’s quota. He has to be made the MLC within the next six months to maintain his ministerial berth. BJP, BRS hit out at Congress party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have strongly objected to Azharuddin’s appointment to the cabinet, arguing it is a ploy to sway the highly anticipated 11th November Jubilee Hills by-election. It seems to be an attempt to “woo the electorate” ahead of a triangular contest between the three parties as the assembly constituency has more than one lakh Muslim votes. The saffron party pointed out the timing and charged that the action violated the Model Code of Conduct and filed a complaint with the state Election Commission. “It is an attempt to court the voters of a certain community and it is evident,” a party leader expressed, according to The Indian Express. According to BJP spokespersons, a minister’s induction, especially if the they recently wanted to contest from the same seat, amounts to the abuse of governmental authority to manipulate voters. Similar assertions were made by the BRS as it added that the action was planned with the Jubilee Hills election in mind. The seat has been occupied by the party since Telangana was created in 2014. On the other hand, Congress retorted that the move acknowledged Azharuddin’s political and cricketing accomplishments. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka contended, “There is a nexus between the BJP and the BRS and that is why they are opposing his elevation,” at a press conference. The same allegation was levelled by Goud at the two parties despite earlier row. “The Congress party had made a commitment to ensure cabinet representation for minorities. Governments, even in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, always included a minority face. We are simply correcting a long-overdue imbalance,” he claimed while talking to NDTV. The downfall of Azharuddin Azharuddin, who was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in 1990, represented the nation in three World Cups after making his debut on the field with three consecutive Test centuries in his first three games in 1985. However, his cricketing career took a turn for the worst as the massive match-fixing scandal broke and he was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in December 2000 which was eventually stayed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2012. The scandal unfolded on 7th April 2000 when Delhi police revealed to have a tape of a phone call between South African captain Hansie Cronje and bookie Sanjay Chawla, resulting in the accusation of match-fixing. The lawsuit also involved Cronje’s three other teammates, Pieter Strydom, Nicky Boje and Herschelle Gibbs. On 8th April, Cronje and the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) denied that South African players were involved in any form of game-fixing. On 11th April, Cronje was fired as team captain as he professed of not being “entirely honest” to Ali Bacher, executive director of Cricket South Africa. During the 2000 India series, he acknowledged receiving payment between $10,000 and $15,000 for “providing information and forecast but not match-fixing.” The Indian government summoned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 28th April to look into the claims and determine whether any Indian officials or cricket players were involved. The King Commission in South Africa started looking into the matter on 7th June. Pat Symcox, Gibbs, Henry Williams and Strydom, all South African players, testified in court that Cronje had offered them money in exchange for poor performance in several of the India tour’s games. Azharuddin enters the picture Cronje made his contact with bookmakers public in a statement released, on 15th June. He informed the King Commission that while South Africa was touring India in 1996, Azharuddin had introduced him to a bookmaker who promised him money to lose a Test match. The latter denied the allegations. Afterward, the homes of prominent Indian cricket players Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia alongside Nikhil Chopra as well as the Indian coach Kapil Dev were raided by the central agency on 20th July. However, nothing suspicious was located. Gibbs and Williams received a four-month penalty on 28th August 28 as Strydom was acquited. Azharuddin reportedly admitted to fixing three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) during the CBI investigation. The first was against South Africa in Rajkot in 1996, followed by Pepsi Cup matches in Sri Lanka in 1997 and Pakistan in 1999. However, he later denied any involvement in an interview. Meanwhile, the CBI published a report on 31st October that outlined his admission of match-fixing and disclosed that he had enlisted the assistance of colleagues Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia to carry out the fixing operations. On 27th November, Azharuddin was pronounced guilty by the BCCI. Ajay Sharma, Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar alongside Ali Irani, a former Indian team physio, were all charged for their connections to bookies. Kapil Dev and Mongia were not found guilty. Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma were suspended for life by the cricketing body on 5th December. Prabhakar and Irani were barred from holding any position in Indian cricket for five years while Jadeja was given a five-year suspension. Delhi bookie names Azharuddin Delhi bookmaker and a goldsmith by profession, Mukesh Gupta (also known as John or MK) knew a number of Indian and international cricket players and had been known to Indian authorities since the initial rumours of match-fixing, based on ESPNcricinfo. Cronje confirmed Gupta’s involvement when he admitted to the King Commission that Azharuddin had introduced him to the former in Kanpur in 1996. Cronje received $40,000 from Gupta in return for information. Gupta revealed the truth and provided the CBI enough proof to go after Azharuddin, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja, Ajay Sharma and Nayan Mongia. More importantly, photographs depicting Azharuddin with prominent members of the Bombay mafia, including at least one whose name has been connected to terrorist bombings in the city in early 1993, were in the CBI’s possession. The police did not question the cricket player after finding these photos during their bombing investigations. According to sources, he broke under pressure when the CBI presented him with proof of his dubious affiliations. There had been long-standing claims that some of these underworld personalities have a tight relationship to Sharjah matches. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court declared Azharuddin’s sentence “unsustainable” and removed it on 8th November 2012. The Delhi High Court also lifted Jadeja’s ban in January 2003, stating that there was insufficient evidence to support his role in match fixing.
