Mohammed Azharuddeen and Virat Kohli
Royal Challengers Bangalore's new recruit Mohammed Azharuddeen was elated to get a signed jersey from his skipper Virat Kohli. Over a week after the postponement of IPL 2021, Azharuddenn shared a picture with Kohli where the latter is signing a jersey. “Going to get this jersey framed,” he captioned the post.
Azharuddeen, who was picked up by RCB in the mini-auction at his base price of Rs 20 lakh, didn't feature in any game in the now-suspended IPL 2021.
"I wanted to represent RCB and it's amazing that they have picked me. It would be a surreal experience to share the dressing room with the likes of Kohli bhai and AB de Villiers. I'm thankful to everyone who helped me get here. It's all just settling in slowly," the Kerala dasher had told The New Indian Express after being bought by the Bangalore outfit. Azharuddeen had also received a congratulatory message from Kohli.
Azharuddeen, still waiting for his debut cap, will be eager to don the RCB jersey if the IPL resumes later in the year in September. In pursuit of maiden IPL title, the Kohli-led side was placed third in the points table before the tournament was halted midway. RCB had gathered 10 points from seven games and were only behind table-toppers Delhi Capitals and second-placed Chennai Super Kings.
IPL 2021 was suspended with immediate effect on May 4 after four players contracted the dreaded virus. After Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha and Delhi Capitals veteran tweaker Amit Mishra joined the growing list of COVID-19 infected players, the BCCI decided to 'indefinitely suspend' the lucrative T20 league.
"The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect," read the official statement by the Indian cricket board.
