Where he missed on giving a final stamp of approval. Perhaps the most moving all is his 99 Test matches. He will go down as the only person to be stranded on 99 tests. One never thought that the missed Mumbai Test against South Africa would cost him so dear. Azhar might have the consolation of having a hundred in his first and last test innings, but he will not be able to emulate Miandad and Greenidge.
Individual records are one thing.
They establish a person in the echelons of the sporting greats. But being a better person is always more important. It is here that the greatest tragedy of Azharuddin lies. For he was considered to be one of the last representatives of the gentlemanly tradition of the game. Gentle to the extent meek and submissive.