Chicago – October 31, 2025
Mohammad Azharuddin, former captain of the Indian cricket team and Congress leader, was sworn in as a minister in the Telangana Cabinet on Friday, marking a pivotal moment in his varied career. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad, with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and other dignitaries in attendance.
Shortly after taking his oath as a minister in the Telangana Cabinet, he offered the Jumma (Friday congregational) prayers at Masjid-e-Chiran Palace, which is located inside the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. CEO Engineer Mujeeb Osman and Engineer Abud Majid was also present in the mosque.
Azharuddin, who took the oath in the name of Allah and raised slogans of “Jai Telangana” and “Jai Hind,” becomes the first Muslim minister in the Congress-led Telangana government formed in December 2023.
His induction raises the Revanth Reddy cabinet’s strength to 16 and is seen as a strategic move ahead of the November 11 by-election in Jubilee Hills, a constituency with a significant Muslim electorate.
The BJP has criticised the appointment as political appeasement during the election campaign. Azharuddin, however, dismissed these claims, pledging to serve with honesty and uphold the interests of the oppressed. Known for his iconic cricket career and earlier tenure as an MP, Azharuddin’s ministerial role signals another remarkable chapter in his public life.
