"I pray to Almighty God to give peace to his soul": Mohammad Azharuddin on Australia legend Bob Simpson's demise

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 16 (ANI): Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin expressed his condolences after Australia legend Bob Simpson passed away at the age of 89 in Sydney on Saturday.

Former captain and coach, Simpson was a key figure in Australia's surge to the pinnacle of the cricketing world in the 1990s. Simpson took the full-time coaching role for the Baggy Greens when the Allan Border-led side was enduring a steep decline in fortunes. Australia was tottering in the middle of a winless run that stretched out for three years.

"It is a sad day. I think he was a father figure to all the cricketers in the world. When I played in the 1999 World Cup, he was also our coach, and he always loved me. When I was playing county cricket, he was also coaching another county, so I had a very good experience with him. I think people have learned a lot from him... I always pray to Almighty God to give peace to his soul and offer my heartfelt condolences to his family," Azharuddin told ANI,

The legendary cricketer played Tests for Australia from 1957 to 1978.

Simpson, in a bid to regenerate Australia's cricket, entrusted its faith in young blood and handed debuts to David Boon, Dean Jones, Steve Waugh, Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes and many more.

During his stint with the selection panel in 1987, he played a fundamental role in identifying Australia's golden generation. Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting were among the host of players that Simpson selected before he stepped down in 1996.

One of the biggest highlights of Simpson's coaching tenure was winning the 1987 Cricket World Cup hosted by India and Pakistan, defeating arch-rivals England in a closely-contested final by seven runs at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. (ANI)

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