Can N Kiran Kumar Reddy, the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, use his cricketing skills to fend off the bouncers being thrown by Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy? With his predecessor K Rosaiah retired hurt, this remains a big question for the Congress think tank.
But at least one partyman has no doubts. Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin thinks Kiran can. ?He was a very good cricketer ? a good wicketkeeper, an attacking batsman and an attacking captain. He is a strict disciplinarian who is unassuming and who believes in taking everybody along. So, he will bring all these things to play in his new role,? Azhar told The Indian Express.
The Congress MP from Moradabad, who made his debut in politics in the last Lok Sabha elections, knows what he is talking about. Kiran Reddy was his captain in the under-19 and under-25 teams in Hyderabad, and they have played a lot of cricket together. Azhar spoke to the new chief minister on Friday wishing him all the best in his new innings.
?Had he not chosen a career in politics, he would have gone on to win a place in the Indian team,? Azhar says, recalling how helpful his former captain was. Kiran, in fact, did win a place in the Ranji team in Hyderabad.
?He gifted a lot of things to me. Whenever I needed equipment, he was on my side. When we were in college (Nizam College, Hyderabad), there were only two-three bats. But I was finicky about my bat, gloves and pads. He would gift me new ones,? said Azhar, who came from a humble background.
In fact, when Azhar made his Test debut in 1984-85 against England, the bat he used had been gifted by Kiran Reddy. Congress sources said that the party expected Kiran Reddy to be a ?team man?, unlike Rosaiah, who seemed to be trying his best to come out of YSR?s shadow in his tenure. Instead of a leader who helped the Congress ?gradually claim the political legacy? of YSR, Rosaiah ?started giving the impression that it wanted to undermine the populist schemes which had been started by YSR?, said a Congress leader involved in Andhra affairs.
?Jagan lapped up this opportunity to attack the party and project that the leadership was trying to erase YSR?s legacy, which was obviously a mere propaganda that should have been countered effectively by Rosaiah and his team. Instead, Rosaiah wasted his opportunity in trying to nail Jagan, which only kept the latter politically relevant,? said the Congress leader.
Seized right now with the issue of rebellion by Jagan, the brief for Kiran Reddy is said to be to keep the wickets without showing any aggression. The new chief minister has followed the script so far. Immediately after taking oath, the chief minister drove to Nizam?s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) to call on patients undergoing treatment under Rajiv Arogyasri, the late YSR?s pet health insurance scheme.
But as Jagan continues to throw bouncers, Kiran may soon be in a dilemma ? whether to duck or pull.