Really looking forward to sharing the dressing room with Virat Kohli: Azharuddeen

18 February 2021: It was the day of the IPL Auction. A day, where the fate of several domestic and foreign players participating in the league are decided. Kerala’s Mohammed Azharuddeen had just returned to his team hotel after a gruelling practice session during the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Realising that the auction had begun, Azharuddeen along with Sanju Samson switched on the television set. The keeper-batsman was glued to the screen.  He was confident that some team would definitely go after him because of his spectacular batting performances in the domestic circuit. The tension on his face was evident when the IPL auctioneer Hugh Edmeades called his name out. He could not contain his joy when his favourite franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore raised the paddle for him at the base price. 

In an exclusive interview with the Times of India, Mohammed Azharuddeen recollected instances that transpired on the day of the IPL auction. 

"I had returned from practice during the Vijay Hazare tournament. Sanju and Nidheesh and I were sitting together and were watching the auction together. I was so tense when my name was called. I really wanted to play IPL this year because I had an impressive domestic season. Sanju saw the tension on my face and said 'be calm bro, everything will be alright. You have done an amazing job'. Once I was picked by RCB, Sanju started clapping and everyone started celebrating together," he stated.

Apart from getting picked by his favourite team, receiving a congratulatory message from his idol, Virat Kohli, was just the icing on the cake.

"I returned to my room after being congratulated by my team-mates. Just after 2 minutes, I got a message from an unknown number. The message read 'Welcome to RCB, Azharuddeen. Virat here. All the best. See you soon'. I was stunned. I immediately rushed to Sanju's room and showed him the message. He (Sanju) checked the number and confirmed that it was Virat bhai's number. I was so glad and elated," Azharuddeen told TOI. 

The youngster, who once dreamt of meeting Virat Kohli, will now be sharing the dressing room with him. He revealed that he has a truckload of questions to ask. The one thing he is most looking forward to is learning the art of consistency from the skipper. 

"Consistency. How can I be a consistent cricketer? This is the first thing I want to ask him (Virat). Ultimately, we all want to represent India someday. For that, we have to be consistent performers. He is the best batsman in the world and he is the best captain as well. His average is above 50 in all three formats. That's unbelievable. I want to ask Virat bhai how to be a consistent cricketer" 

The 27-year-old understands the importance of this opportunity. He hopes to pick the brains of some of the batting heavyweights like AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell.

“It will be a huge learning process for me. I am really looking forward to sharing the dressing room with the best batsmen in the world - Virat bhai, ABD, and T20 specialist Maxwell. I really want to learn a lot from these legends.”

The flamboyant keeper-batsman rose to fame with a scintillating 37-ball hundred against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. In 5 matches, he scored a total of 214 runs at an average of 53.50. He will be hoping to emulate his recent batting performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming edition of IPL. 

[Times of India inputs]