New Delhi: The Congress is trying to revoke the life ban on former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin.
A Congress MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Azharuddin is serving a life ban from the BCCI for his involvement in the match-fixing scandal that rocked Indian cricket in 2000.
Ajay Sharma, another former cricketer, was also handed a life ban while Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar were given five-year bans by the Indian cricket board.
The BCCI had blacklisted Azharuddin through a unanimous resolution nine years ago. But Congress leaders say most international players who have faced similar charges have been accepted back.
A group of Congress MPs from UP met the International Cricket Council Vice-President Sharad Pawar on Friday. They have asked Pawar, who is a leading politician and a former Board president, to use his influence with the BCCI.
The MPs include Jitin Prasad, BCCI's finance committee chairman Rajiv Shukla and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar.
BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said that the ban on Azharuddin can be lifted if the AGM deems it fit.
"I spoke to BCCI President Shashank Manohar, and he said that if Azhar himself shows interest in wanting the ban to be lifted then it can be moved forward to the Annual General Meeting and then the AGM will have to decide," Shukla said.
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