A talent nipped in the bud

[speed_demon]

Hyderabad: Until a little over a week back, Mohammad Ayazuddin was a budding young cricketer with stars in his eyes and an ambition that isnÃÕ uncommon among the talented teenaged -- to represent the country at the highest level. A fatal bike accident catapulted the 18-year-old from relative obscurity -- despite being Mohammad AzharuddinÃÔ son, not much was known about him outside Hyderabad -- and suddenly, parallels are being drawn with his illustrious fatherÃÔ dazzling strokeplay. Ū would say he was a better bowler than he was a batsman, said John Manoj, a former player who has been running the St JohnÃÔ Coaching Foundation for a long time now. It was at St JohnÃÔ that young Ayazuddin honed his cricketing skills. Å¢fter he finished his 12th, Azhar was keen that Ayaz play for my club, East Maredpally Cricket Club. He played for us for two years, and he was quite a good talent. He was instrumental in us winning the league title last year, he played a couple of crucial innings. Å¢yaz was a decent cricketer, a good all-rounder in the making. At our camp, we were all expecting him to be a very good bowler. Yes, he has some shots that resemble his dadÃÔ style but he was a good off-spinner at the under-16 level and at the camp, we told him to focus more on his spin bowling, especially given the paucity of spinning reserves in India. He used to bowl quite a lot and I personally feel he was a better bowler than a batsman. Both Ayazuddin, a II B Com student at St MaryÃÔ College until last Friday, and his older brother Abbasuddin were at St JohnÃÔ together. Å¢bbas used to push him hard, he was the big brother who always looked out for his young sibling, Manoj went on. Å¢yaz was very shy, reserved but always very polite. His best friend was his cousin (Ajmal-ur-Rehman, who was also killed in the bike accident). They used to come together and leave together, they were very close. Everything happened so suddenly, itÃÔ a real tragedy for us, for Hyderabad cricket and for the families of the two boys. Manoj said Ayazuddin never threw his weight around. Å©e was a gem of a person, a down-to-earth guy. He had no airs, and if you didnÃÕ know it, you would never guess he was a celebrityÃÔ son. Both Ayaz and Abbas are very well-mannered, very respectful. Azhar told us very early that we shouldnÃÕ do them any favours and treat them no differently from the others. Å©e insisted that their talent that should speak for them. Azhar came up the hard way, he realised very early that nothing comes easy and that you need to keep working hard. He has drilled those lessons into his kids. He never interfered with their cricket, never tried to push for their selection. Two years ago, Manoj recalled, former New Zealand all-rounder Gavin Larsen had brought an under-16 team from New Zealand. Å¢yaz played one match against them. Gavin and a couple of the other Kiwis who had watched Azhar play were fascinated that in Hyderabad, there was another batsman whose batting style resembled AzharÃÔ. They had no clue that he was AzharÃÔ son! Manoj reminisced. Srinivas, another coach at St JohnÃÔ, added, Ū cannot recall one instance when Ayaz threw a fit, like most rich kids do. Ūf only we had the camp on Saturdays and Sundays too (the camp is closed during the weekend), this accident wouldnÃÕ have happened,Ãò he lamented. If only That is the lingering thought here in Hyderabad. If only

[akshayxyz]

There have been quote a few such examples. But one eerily similar thing happened around early 90s. There was this budding youngster - Dhruv Pandov, who was also purported to have prodigious talent - also lost his life in Bike car accident.

Dhruv Pandov: Keen followers of cricket during early 90's will remember this name. All the cricket magazines/newspapers were full of praises for this Punjab player. Many articles & reports were loaded with superlatives for his stylish batting and many termed him as next big thing in Indian cricket. He was not destined to play international cricket, but if we see his domestic record, its good but not excellent (I've seen players with better domestic records go kaput at the international arena). Still, he was described as the hope for India and it only suggests his class. The respect he earned in such a small career is reflected in the fact that the Punjab Cricket Board named the Patiala cricket ground after him. A under-19 trophy is also named after him. He died in a car crash('91) while travelling to play in a match and the star-studded sky of Indian cricket lost promising prospect. The fate would have him as only a flash on the horizon.

Source http://vasingh.blogspot.com/2005/03/only-good-die-young-dhruv-pandov.html

[Cricket Tragic]

Terrible tragedy but let's not get carried away here. He was 19 and still basically playing club cricket. He should have been playing FC cricket at that age if he was any good.

[akshayxyz]

^ Good point - and 'late starter' can not be one of the excuses after being Azhar's son. And sadly, we come to hear of his name only after this incident. RIP anyway.

[Sachinism]

Ben Hollioake

[Crookbond]

Archie Jackson Source : http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/6000.html

There are those who argue to this day that had he lived, Archie Jackson would have rivaled Don Bradman as the greatest batsman off all time. Jackson's death from tuberculosis at the tragically young age of 23 meant that he gave only glimpses of what might have been. Jackson was a graceful batsman, his innings punctuated by delicate leg-glances, wristy flicks through the covers and exquisite footwork. He made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 17, and within a year was touring New Zealand with Australia, although he had to wait until the fourth Ashes Test of 1928-29 to make his Test debut. In it he hit 164 and a remarkable career beckoned. He struggled for form on the 1930 tour of England, his courageous 73 at The Oval when he added 243 for the fourth wicket with Bradman a rare highlight. But his successes were made against the backdrop of his failing health, and his appearances grew rarer. He died on February 16, 1933, the day that England regained the Ashes in the Bodyline series.