Hyderabad, Nov 8 (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday struck down the life ban imposed on former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 12 years ago.

A division bench of the high court set aside the order of a lower court which had upheld the ban.

It was on Dec 5, 2000, that the BCCI banned Azhar from playing cricket for life after being found guilty of match-fixing.

The Hyderabadi had challenged the Indian cricket board's decision in the City Civil Court, which upheld the ban. He then moved to high court against the lower court's order, his lawyers arguing that the BCCI imposed the ban without any evidence.

The 49-year-old is currently a member of parliament from Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Azhar, one of India's successful captains, played 99 Tests scoring over 6,215 runs during his career. He also played 334 One-Day Internationals scoring 9,378 runs in his 15-year international career.