HYDERABAD (India), Aug 31: Former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin has been provided security after authorities received a tip-off that his life was in danger, police said on Wednesday.

“We have provided security to Azharuddin on information that there was threat to his life,” Andhra Pradesh state police chief Swaranjit Sen told reporters.

“I got a call recently from the Mumbai police commissioner saying they got information that Azharuddin was under threat from some underground mafia groups.

Armed personnel will provide round-the-clock security at Azharuddin’s residence and the gymnasium he runs in Hyderabad, Sen added.

Azharuddin, 42, was banned from cricket for life in 2000 following a Central Bureau of Investigation report that alleged his involvement in match-fixing.

Azharuddin denied the charge and went to court to clear his name. The case is currently being heard in a Hyderabad court.

The cricketer, meanwhile, denied he had received death threats. “Nobody has called me to threaten me,” media reports quoted Azharuddin as saying. —AFP