Azharuddin was born in Hyderabad to Mohammad Azizuddin and Yousuf Sultana. He attended All Saints High School, Hyderabad and graduated from Nizam College, Osmania University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Few cricketers in India would have experienced the highs and lows of life like Azharuddin. Born in the Nizam town of Hyderabad in the state of Telangana, Azhar boasted of prodigious talent with the bat and was world renowned for his wristy strokes on the leg side, much like legends like Zaheer Abbas , Greg Chappell and Vishwanath. Those who saw this supreme batting artist at his peak will never forget him - sinewy wrists transforming a slender piece of willow into a magician's wand. Azharuddin made his debut for the Indian cricket team in Test cricket in 1984 against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 31 December 1984 and hit three centuries in his first three matches, a feat that has never been match, 3 years after he made his first class debut for Hyderabad. Azhar was heralded as a batting genius and this opinion grew stronger when he thumped his way to an aggressive 120 against England at Lord’s in 1990. This was the Test where Gooch had pummeled the Indian bowlers all over to bring up his 333 and India were faced with the prospect of a follow on when Azhar came in to bat at number 5. Against a quality bowling attack, he brought up his hundred of just 87 balls and although