Hyderabad: Asaduddin Owaisi, once known more for his fiery medium fast bowling than for his fiery oratory, recalls besting future India paceman Venkatesh Prasad in an inter-university final match in the early 90s.

Owaisi ended up with 6 for 79 and on Saturday recalled with glee that Prasad went wicketless in that match. For the record Prasad’s Bangalore University team beat the future Hyderabadi politician’s Osmania University.

“We lost the match but I did get six wickets and Venkatesh got nothing,” the MP from Hyderabad constituency told PTI in an interview on Saturday.

With pride, Owaisi showed off on his phone the picture of a large write-up in the local Deccan Chronicle newspaper after the day’s play, complete with the score card. The report also featured a small picture of the then clean-shaven Owaisi, his hair plastered on the scalp.

After that he got selected for South Zone inter-university Under-25 team, and played in Vizzy Trophy, a national level one-day tournament for university teams, in 1994.

But as luck would have it, he went to London to study law at Lincoln’s Inn and “the cricketing chapter ended right there.” He modestly dismisses suggestions that he could have made it to the big league had he stayed in cricket, just as fellow Hyderabadis Mohammad Azharuddin, Abid Ali, M.L. Jaisimha, Ghulam Hussain and VVS Laxman did. To him, they were all-time greats and he was simply a mediocre bowler.

“No no no! My name cannot be compared with Azharuddin. He is a man who played 99 Tests. You cannot compare me with Azharuddin. As a cricketer I salute him. As a politician I have many differences with him,” said Owaisi.

He agreed with the suggestion that Indian cricket today has democratised the game and allowed players from all kinds of backgrounds to rise to the top, citing the story of pacer Mohammad Siraj. But it needs to be democratised more, he said.

“Look at Mohammad Siraj today. Mashallah. A boy from poor background. With hard work he rose and has taken 100 Test wickets. Great journey … inspirational! … I hope that he plays a lot for India and gives India many victories.

He paid high tributes to Virat Kohli who this week announced his retirement from Test cricket.

“Arey zabardast player hai. We will forever be deprived of his cover drive. On the rise the way he hit over the bowler’s head! Arey great player hai. Zabardast player hai.

“But there will be more Kohlis. It’s not like we don’t have talent in India,” he said.