KOCHI: "I'm only human. It took me a while to process the different kinds of emotions I went through today," said 26-year-old Mohammed Azharuddeen describing the experience of sitting through the Indian Premier League auctions held on Thursday and receiving a congratulatory message from Virat Kohli.
Azhar was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for his base price of Rs 20 lakhs and it is the first time that he will be part of the competition.
After a long and winding road, he will be sharing the dressing room with the likes of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell.
For a long time, the Kasaragod-native was known for being the namesake to former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin. His eldest brother had given him that name and Azhar was expected to soar to heights no other cricketer from his region had.
There were some devastating personal tragedies on the way as well as he lost his parents at different junctures in life. The swashbuckling cricketer had even wondered during his U-19 days if he could carry on after losing his mother, but received support from his brothers and teammates including Sanju Samson as he carried on.
The Thalangara-boy has been in the domestic circuit having made his first-class debut back in 2015. However, it was only recently that Azharuddeen caught nationwide attention.
In the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the right-hander smashed the second-fastest century in the history of the competition. It was also the first T20 hundred by a Kerala cricketer and thrust him into the limelight putting IPL scouts on the alert.
Questions started doing the rounds on why it took him so long to showcase his talent despite being a regular for Kerala.
"I have batted at different positions for Kerala over the years. It is only in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that I got to open for the first time. And it is a format that I like and I prefer opening the innings. Everything worked out for me and I was happy to contribute for the team," explains Azhar.
After the whirlwind knock, the wicket-keeper batsman's bucket list became viral and on it were things like: own a house, slam four hundreds in Ranji Trophy, buy a Mercedes, play in the IPL and represent India in the 2023 World Cup.
One out of those has been ticked off and even though Azhar doesn't believe in fairytales, his journey showed that dreams can become realities.
"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," he said.
Azhar knows that he may not be able to break into a star-studded RCB team right away but is happy to wait for his opportunities like he has done his whole career.
"I know I have to wait for my chances and the presence of Sachin Baby will be of huge help for me to settle in. This is a new chapter in my life," said Azhar.