A year on, Mohammed Azharuddin and family coming to terms with Ayaz's death

September 4, 2012

captain-son

Hyderabad: As the blue Alto stopped near Hazrath Banda Shah graveyard gate in the bustling Riyasat Nagar locality, a strapping bespectacled man in his 40s came out of the car with a bouquet of roses accompanied by a teenager.

Even from a distance, any onlooker would not be able to miss a striking resemblance of the man with former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin and rightly so.

He is Mohammed Fareesuddin, Azhar's younger brother, who has come all the way from Dubai to pay homage to his nephew Ayazuddin -- who lost his life in a tragic bike accident on a fateful day in September last year.

"It's a huge loss for the family. We are yet to overcome from that tragedy but we are trying our best," Farees said as he tried hard to control his emotions standing in front of Ayazuddin's grave.

"Ayaz was very soft-spoken, introvert lad. There was hardly any interaction between us... But I remember people saying he was a talented cricketer, similar to that of his father."

Farees informed that the family will be planning something on Ayaz's first death anniversary, once Azhar, who is now a busy Parliamentarian is back in the city.

Although Ayaz passed away on September 16 last year, according to Arabic calendar, his first death anniversary is next week.

"As per the English calendar it's on September 16 but according to the Arabic calendar the anniversary is sometime next week. Bhai (Azhar) would come during that time," he added.

September 11 is a date that will haunt the family forever as Ayaz had the bike accident on that very day.

"I was here that time. He really battled for life. Despite heavy internal bleeding, he fought on, continuously for six days before breathing his last," Farees said.

"A father can only understand how difficult is it to lose a child. It was really painful for Bhai... But somehow, he is trying to overcome it. He (Azhar) is quite fine now."

The graveyard is more than 100 years' old with all of Azharuddin's ancestors buried at the place.

"Whenever anybody of the family comes (to Hyderabad), they visit and pay a homage here. All our ancestors are buried here," Irfan said.

55-year-old Mohammad Ahmed, janitor of this graveyard remembered how Azhar broke down during the burial.

"I still remember the evening when Ayaz was buried. It was around 7 clock in the evening. Azhar completely broke down. Later, he (Azhar) had come on the third day, the 10th day and on the 40th day. It's been about two months since he last visited.

"He is a busy man. It's their family's graveyard. I've seen many burials of the family. But Ayaz's death was most tragic," Ahmed, who lives inside the compound with his 10-member family, said.

"The entire city including all the ministers turned up to mourn the death last year. The entire place was cordoned off," he recollected.

The 1000cc Hayabusa was a gift from Azhar to Ayaz on Eid as the teenager was passionate about mean machine.

His passion turned fatal and changed the lives of everyone around him. May be the reason why Azhar didn't pay a visit to graveyard during this year's Eid. Time flies but for some life refuses to move on.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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