AFP

New Delhi, Feb 20: Former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who was forced to quit the game after a match-fixing scandal, entered the country's turbulent political scene on Thursday.

Azharuddin, 46, was paraded for the media at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi after joining the ruling party ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections.

But Congress spokesman Veerappa Moily refused to confirm if the Hyderabad-based Azharuddin would contest polls expected in April-May.

"I've known him for 25 years and he expressed his desire to join the Congress," Moily said.

"I took up this matter with the Congress president (Sonia Gandhi), who has agreed to admit him into the party.

"He is joining the party unconditionally. Whether he will contest for the Lok Sabha (lower house) elections will be discussed later."

Azharuddin said he was delighted to sign up with Congress -- a party he said he "admired a lot" -- but sidestepped questions on standing for elections.

"I am not the captain here, just a player, and will do anything the party asks me to do," he said.

"The Congress has done so much for the country since the freedom movement. I wanted to give something back to the nation and the best way was to serve the people.

"I know I am capable of helping the party and the nation. I will do my best."

Azharuddin was banned from cricket for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2000 after he was named in a match-fixing probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Azharuddin, who played 99 Tests and 334 one-day internationals, took the BCCI to court over the ban and is awaiting a final verdict.

Moily said the Congress party was not worried about Azharuddin's tainted past.

"There is no criminal case against Azhar," he said. "If there is a case at all, then it is between the BCCI and him, which has been filed by Azhar himself against the ban.

"Remember, he served Indian cricket for 16 years with distinction and was one of the best captains."