Modern era may never see a Vishy

In an interview with Deccan Herald, Indian cricket great Gundappa Viswanath, on his 60th birthday, shares the memories of his century on debut against Australia in Kanpur in 1969, his experience with various roles in Indian cricket following his retirement and some of the issues affecting the game today.

I really enjoyed my playing years. Some people still say that I deserved to complete 100 Tests but I have no regrets. These things happen in cricket. Look at someone like (Mohd) Azharuddin, he got stuck at 99. Imagine how he would be feeling. To be frank, I always expected to come back after I was dropped, but the selectors thought I wasn’t good enough to get my place back in the side. Fair enough. Later, I became a selector and I had to drop a few players. This, I believe, put things in perspective.

Rahul Dravid, speaking to R Kaushik in the same newspaper, feels Viswanath is a role model for any young cricket aspirant from Bangalore.

In Mid-day, Dravid also salutes Viswanath in a special column.

Read Sunil Gavaskar's tribute in his syndicated column.

In the Hindu, KC Vijaya Kumar also catches up with Viswanath.

Anil Kumble pays tribute to him in the Times of India. Click here for e-paper link.

Another prominent feature was his exemplary conduct and good nature, which has left a mark on anyone who has interacted with him, on or off the field. He constantly encouraged me during the period I was dropped from the Indian team, and guided me into maintaining self belief and determination. His absolute classy style of batting was a treat to the eye, and reminiscent of an era where lots of high quality Test match cricket took place. In the modern era of abundant limited overs cricket, we may never see the skills of another Vishy flourish, although one has to accept the reality of the changing times.