(MENAFN- Live Mint) Congress leader and former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin took oath as a minister in Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy's cabinet on Friday. With Azharuddin's induction, the cabinet strength increased to 16, leaving room for two more ministers, as Telangana's Assembly allows a maximum of 18, according to PTI.

His appointment is considered strategically important, as the Congress is contesting the Jubilee Hills bypoll scheduled for November 11, where the votes of over a lakh Muslim voters could prove decisive, the report noted.

On October 5, he expressed his happiness that his long-standing request on behalf of the people of Jubilee Hills constituency for graveyard land in Borabanda was approved. Azharuddin also thanked the Telangana Waqf Board and the Chief Minister for supporting the proposal.

The by-election has been triggered by the passing of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year due to a heart attack. In August, the Telangana government nominated Azharuddin as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor's quota, but Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has not yet approved the appointment. Azharuddin had previously contested the 2023 elections from the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency but couldn't win the seat.

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Azharuddin, 62, as captain, he led the team to victory in the 1990–91 and 1995 Asia Cups and guided them to the semi-finals of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Widely regarded as one of the best ODI batsmen globally and among the greatest of his generation, he also captained India in three Cricket World Cups during the 1990s, the most by any Indian captain at the time. He was also a part of the Indian squad that won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket.

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He was a right-handed middle-order batsman and occasionally bowled medium-fast. Over his career, he represented India in 99 Test matches and 334 One Day Internationals.

In 2009, he joined the INC and was elected as a Member of Parliament from Moradabad.

His cricketing career abruptly got concluded in 2000 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India imposed a lifetime ban on him due to his involvement in a match-fixing scandal. However, in 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the ban following an appeal. In September 2019, he was elected president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

Later, in 2018, he was appointed President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.

(With inputs from PTI)

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